Agnate
by PastelPens
Summary: Dorothea "Dottie" Lyons was found in the Liore desert; maybe-dead, mute, and without any memories. Throw in the strange déjà vu and her fate was sealed as the Elric Brothers' tag-along misfit.
1. A Dash of Dottie

**Hi!**

**So I just realised my beta's notes and corrections were still lying around the chapter I posted, so I'm just updating it now ;^^**

**This story used to be up on FF and AO3 with a slightly different plotline and a majorly different character called Cliona! I took it down after I got really busy, but it's back up again and this time to stay! :3 It's had two names; "Amensiac" and "Agnate" so if it seems familiar, that's probably because you've read my old version. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**A Dash of Dottie**

* * *

Dorothea "Dottie" Lyons hated her name and anybody who used it. It was an old family name, being passed down through the generations on her mother's side where every so often one unlucky daughter would be blessed with the joy of sounding like a walking teabag commercial for life.

"I'm just saying," Her mother started, "If you really want to change your name, it's best to go down to the Town Hall yourself. None of this _online _stuff – get it done the proper way."

Dottie nodded absently at the woman that bustled around the kitchen, intent on finding something to stash the leftover potato-bake into before taking off for the night. Her hands finding their way onto her hips as she sighed, openly wondering where the last of her Tupperware had gotten to.

"I think Aunt Mary has one of the red boxes up in her room," Dottie commented, her eyes scanning the form that took up her laptop screen, "It had some leftover pasta in it last I checked."

"Mary," She sighed, "Of course. Leave it to her to never take her dishes down."

The sound of heels dragging themselves up the stairs was how Dottie knew her mother had gone to check. She could hear the floorboards creaking from upstairs and the distinct sound of a victory stomp, followed by a muffled 'ah-ha!.' A high-pitched whistling drew her from her rapid typing and towards the counter where the kettle had steam coming from its mouth.

"I swear," Her mother had come back, "You tell that woman to make herself at home and she really does, so much so that you'd think she'd lived here her whole life!"

"She's still miles better to live with than Todd _ever _was."

"Todd did his own washing! He even cooked twice a week."

"Yeah but he also threatened to torch the house, so I'm not sure he was the 'perfect' tenant." Dottie used air quotes, watching with amusement as the irritation on the older woman's face came back. Todd had lived in the spare room upstairs before Aunt Mary had asked for a place to stay. He hadn't taken the whole 'move out' thing well, claiming his raging kleptomania wasn't a good enough reason to evict him.

Legally, it was.

"At least he stayed away from my Tupperware." Her mother muttered and sank into one of the kitchen island chairs, claiming the spot where Dottie had been working and lazily pulled the laptop towards her. Her eyes bounced around the screen as she read through what her daughter had left pulled up.

"I still don't understand why you want to change your name."

"My name makes me sound like I should be a teabag," Dottie moaned, "We've been over this."

"A very _cute_ teabag."

"Mum!"

* * *

Edward Elric hated sand; it was rough and coarse, and it got everywhere_. _So, imagine his joy at finding himself in the Liore desert during one of the hottest months of the year. It had only taken ten minutes before his little brother had been claimed by the sand, burying him deeper than Ed would have liked as he had to dig him out by hand.

"I hate the desert," He whined loudly, "There's nothing but sand! At least if there was grass, I could turn it into _bread_ or _something!"_ He lay defeated on the ground for a while, unmoving as he tried to summon up the strength to even get up. Ed frowned at the lack of a response, moving to lean on his arms and legs as he looked around for a certain suit of armour.

"Hey, Al! Where'd you go? _Al?"_

"Down here!" A metal arm shot through the sand, latching itself onto Ed's shin which made him squeal, "I sunk again."

"Reason number two I hate the desert." He spoke, glaring at where his brother was buried for the second time.

Alphonse was successfully dug out of the sand by his older brother roughly, the activity filled with curses courtesy of Ed. The armour stood upright, glancing down at the State Alchemist who was bent over as he tried to get back his breath.

"I just don't understand how you keep falling _in!"_

"I get full!"

"Full of **what**!?" Ed yelled, kicking Al's chest piece which opened to reveal a waterfall of sand that effectively crashed and covered him. Snickers escaped the youngest Elric, sidestepping away from the spluttering Ed that was scraping grains of sand from his tongue. Alphonse couldn't mask his laughter well enough as the eldest Elric sprung up from sand bed and moved to chase him.

"Get back here!"

"What are you gonna do?!"

"Nothing!"

"Then why are you chasing me?!"

"Stop and you'll find out!"

"I promise I won't get buried again!"

"Not unless it's by me!"

Alphonse was about to rush back a reply when he spotted something a few feet away. It was shimmering in the beams of sunlight that were thrown onto the desert plain, glinting an unnatural red. The fragmented light was attached to something that was further buried in the sand, but from what Al could make out it was an arm.

"Brother, look!"

Ed stopped at the tone in his brother's voice, looking over at where the suit of armour was pointing. Raising a hand, he blocked out some of the glare from the sun and spotted the mysterious lump it came from. "So what? Somebody lost some cheap jewellery, it happens all the – Hey!"

The metal suit of armour in question had already started moving towards the light, sinking slightly with every second he stayed too still. Ed watched as his brother went from lightly brushing the sand away from whatever the lump was to vigorously digging it out.

"Brother, it's a person!"

"What!?"

Ed launched himself forwards at that, skidding to a stop next to his brother who had managed to uncover the person's arm and shoulder. There was a bracelet cuff that encircled their wrist, a deep red stone set into the centre of the silver metal.

"At least I was right about it being jewellery," Ed mumbled, fingers digging to try free whatever limb he could from the sand, "Reason number three I hate the desert."

It didn't take long for the two brothers to realise that simply moving the sand wasn't going to work, both groaning in frustration as what they had managed to move off the body started to slide and crash back into place. Grabbing onto the arm that was quickly drowning, Ed pulled in an attempt to get the dead weight to start shifting out of their desert grave. With a final burst of strength, he fell backwards, dragging the body somewhat as its upper body fell onto his legs.

"Brother!"

Opening his eyes that had closed in anticipation for the fall, he ripped off his gloves to start checking for a pulse. Shoving his fingers to their throat, he pocked and prodded as he searched for anything that would say the person was still alive.

"I'm not getting anything, Al!"

"Are they dead!?"

"Well it's not likely that they can survive without a heartbeat!"

Alphonse had already scooped up their maybe-dead passenger before Ed could object, opening up his chest piece to place them inside before they hauled ass to Liore for help.

"Wait Al! Metal heats up in sunlight, you idiot!" The blond didn't need to yell to get across his point, effectively freezing his younger brother's actions, "You'll burn them!"

"Then how are we going to get to Liore!?"

"I'll carry them!" Ed was already unclasping his coat and laying it out on the ground for Al to help wrap them in it. The person was significantly shorter and smaller than either brother had originally thought as they wrestled with the material.

"It's a girl!" Alphonse suddenly yelled, his eyes trained to where most of the dirt had been wiped from her face and onto the coat.

"How the hell did you figure that out!?" Ed glanced down at the girl again, noticing the patches of their face which were now sand-free and distinctly feminine.

There wasn't much said after that as the eldest Elric grabbed the girl's arms and hoisted her up and onto his back, using his coat as a way of tying her limbs together once they were wrapped around his shoulders. Al didn't miss the careful adjustments Ed made so that there was a layer of material between where his hands wrapped around the girl's shins and her bare skin.

* * *

Dottie watched as her mother painstakingly drove out of the driveway, making a left as she got to the estate entrance and increased her speed. Apparently, the Town Hall had stopped taking online submissions earlier on that month after a mix-up between a couple asking for permission to bulldoze their house and another couple trying to buy one. It hadn't ended well if the newspapers were anything to go off of.

"I want you to know that even though I don't approve of this, I still want you to be happy," Her mother spoke as she flicked her turning signal on, "Dorothea is such a _nice_ name, but if you dislike it this much then I'll support you."

Dottie grinned at the blonde woman that was currently scanning the road in front of her for wild deer, feeling suddenly like the luckiest daughter in the world. Her mother was always accepting no matter what she told her.

"I know, Mum. It's not that I don't like the name, it's just I don't think it suits me." Dottie lied, knowing fully well her mother already knew the biggest motivation for her to change her name. From the amount of times she had been called into school, it would've been a shock if she hadn't realised at this point.

Sighing at her daughter's decision, the older woman surfed through the radio stations before settling on something generically pop, "So long as you don't do something stupid, like name yourself Abcde."

Dottie laughed openly at that, sliding further down in the passenger seat as a comfortable silence settled between them, the only sound being the song that she could have sworn she had heard already today. The ticking of the indicators was a steady tempo that helped smother the slightly nauseous feeling that had bubbled in her stomach the second her mother had locked the front door behind them. She flicked her eyes up to watch the raindrops that fell fatly on the window screen, smearing the yellow lights of the streetlamps that were beginning to get more and more spaced out with every turn and roundabout they drove through. The car stopped at a red traffic light eventually, disturbing the silent drive enough for conversation to start back up.

"I think I'd make a good Alice," Dottie said finally, "Maybe an even better Charlotte."

Her mother giggled, "For the record, I've always liked the name Sophie."

"I thought your favourite name was Dorothea!"

"What do you care? You're changing it anyway!"

"Yeah, but _still! _I didn't think my own mum was such an adulterer with names." Dottie grinned at the smile that was spreading across her mother's face. Spotting a half-empty Tic Tac box, she reached into her door's cupholder and fished two dark pink ones out of it and popped it into her mouth.

"C'mon hand it over," Her mother reached across the space between the seats and grabbed the small box, turning it upside down instead to shake out six of the breath mints "The trick is to make sure you let the Tic Tacs know who's really in charge"

The lights turned green, the car already out of gear and into drive. Dottie snorted at her mother, tossing her spare Tic Tac at her and watched as she spared a glance towards her side of the car. Her mother's grin slid off her face as her eyes widened to reflect the headlights that were already too close to the car.

"Dottie!"

* * *

Life after death wasn't something that Dottie and her mother spoke about often. It was a topic that always ended with a fight or someone bursting into tears. There weren't many options in reality when she had looked at religion; paradise, reincarnation, or eternal darkness. Dottie hadn't tried to figure out which one was the better option and so coming face to face with a giant door wasn't too much of a stretch for her.

Dottie was dead, and she knew it.

There was a peaceful silence in the expanse of white, unbreakable even from her furiously choked breaths that were either too shallow or too harsh to truly calm herself down. Dottie had tried walking around the giant door at first, convinced the whole thing was a joke; a sick, practical joke her Aunt Mary and Mother had done for hiding Tupperware in her room. The thought died after she realised that no matter what direction she ran from the door, she only seemed to end up running towards it.

The ticking of a clock was felt more than heard, soft with every passing second and slowly helping the girl unfurl herself from the tight ball she had curled up into. It was stuck at 11:11, the exact moment the truck had crashed into her side of the car. She could remember bits of the accident; blood, screaming, and the look on her mother's face before it all happened. Dottie clutched at herself for comfort. She was alone, trapped in whatever purgatory her life deserved.

It just was her, the clock, the door, and the statue now.

"I want to go home," she whispered, jolting herself as her words echoed loudly throughout the expanse of white.

"I _wondered_ when you would speak," A voice behind her chimed in, "You were beginning to bore me."

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up at the sound of a thousand voices speaking at once, all coming from where she knew the creepy statue had been posed.

"And here I thought you were _ignoring _me!" Their laughter was worse than she could have imagined, "There's no use staring at the Gate, it isn't going to open unless I tell it to. Now come here."

Dottie could only blink as suddenly her body mobilised itself to stand up and settled itself directly opposite the creature.

"You must have _many _questions," It crawled on all fours towards her, stopping only when it was an arm-length away from her face, "It's alright. You always do. _**Ask**_."

"How – How are you?"

It was a kneejerk reaction. A bubble of panic had risen up her throat and forced the first question that had come into her mind, unfortunately being the standard go-to conversation starter that had been drilled into her by both society and her family.

"How am I?" It repeated her, a smile that could have shattered glass spreading lusciously across their blank face. There was another clashing of screams that meant it was laughing.

Dottie swallowed a lot louder than she had meant to, "I don't… I don't know where I am."

The voices came to a gentle stop, "You're at the Gate; the brink of your subconscious soul."

She nodded stiffly at that, unwilling to argue with the thing which was now moving so it was sitting cross-legged beside the door. It had changed slightly now, morphing from what could have been a Church door to slabs of stone. They were smooth from what she could see and suddenly, she felt compelled to run a hand over them and trace the pattern that was chiselled into the rock surface.

There was a rush of rush of calmness that seemed to lick at her skin as she finally found the courage to meet the creatures gaze. It had no eyes but she somehow knew where it was looking, "Why am I here?"

"Because this is where all dead things go."

Dottie felt her eyes sting at that, "So why are _you _here? Shouldn't I be by myself for this?"

"That's not a very good question, Dottie."

"Why aren't I alone then?" She bit back, uncomfortable with the teasing tone that had slipped into the conversation. A thrill of fear ran up her spine when the creature disappeared from her sight, and instead stood behind her with a hand curled around her shoulder. Its fingers were longer than she expected.

"Because I'm not done with you."

Dottie felt the atmosphere grow a few degrees colder, goose-bumps beginning to pop up along her arms at the words that had been whispered into her ears, "Who are you?"

She could feel it smile again.

"I am Truth."

* * *

Dottie felt like she was floating, her body being jostled up and down occasionally as wind licked at her cheeks. It was hot, she thought as she felt a bead of sweat roll from her temple and disappear into her hairline by her ear Her mouth felt like sandpaper; dry and gritty from what she could only place as sand. There wasn't much else rattling around in her mind besides those discoveries, nothing that jumped out at her and demanded her attention besides the growing need for a glass of cold water and maybe some toothpaste if she was lucky. She could feel something was wrapped around her wrists. The material was soaked with what she hoped was either juice or water and not her sweat like she had a feeling it was.

"I'm serious, Al! What if she doesn't wake up? What if we're just carting around some corpse for all of Liore to see?"

"Then I guess we'll just have to explain that we weren't the ones who killed her."

"Oh yeah that's great," The voice scoffed, "Would that be before or after we're thrown in jail without a trial?"

The voices were familiar, although she couldn't quite place them at the moment. Her eyelids were too heavy to open and check who they were. The numbness that had taken her hostage for the most part had migrated further down slightly, paralysing her toes. Her hands had subconsciously started twisting in their restraints, the material that tied her wrists together coming apart easily thanks to the sweat that had soaked through it. She craned herself into a more comfortable position, moving her arms slightly to help with the pins and needles that were shooting through them.

The feeling of floating stopped, replaced by hushed whispers that she couldn't hear through the ringing in her ears. It felt like somebody had been screaming into them, she thought groggily as something searingly hot touched the side of her neck.

Dottie's eyes popped open with a muted screech of pain, her body kicking into gear as she fell backwards onto the stone street and scampered backwards from whatever had touched her. Clasping a hand to her throat, she winced at the skin as it throbbed against her fingertips. She only noticed the person that had fallen with her when he sat up two feet away from where she was.

"What the hell was that for?" Ed groaned from his spot on the ground with a hand behind his head, rubbing at where he had collided with the ground.

"Brother, she's alive! We won't get arrested!"

The sound of creaking metal drew Dottie's attention from her tender neck, her eyes darting between the brothers. The suit of armour obviously torn between helping her up or the blond boy that had started spitting some rather colourful curses at whatever he could see. She couldn't help the upward twist of her lips when Ed started blaming sand, something about it was like an inside joke.

Al decided to help the girl up first, offering a gloved gauntlet for her to take. She did, balancing herself gracelessly on the cobble street that felt colder than the air did. Frowning, Dottie looked down at her bare feet with disbelief.

_Where did my shoes go?_

"Hey!" The blond called for her attention, "D'you have any idea how hard it was to lug you out of the desert?!"

Dottie blinked, why was she near the desert?

"How did you even get there? How are you even _alive?"_

Something white flickered through her mind, attaching itself with a jolt of misdirected fear that seemed to leak into her expression. Ed was watching her now, patiently waiting for her to speak up and answer his questions. He sighed after the stretch of silence had gone on longer than socially acceptable, taking his brother's hand to bring himself to his feet. A sliver of smugness slithered in him as he realised that she was almost the same height as him, if only a centimetre or two taller than him.

He sighed, "Look, we can't help you if you don't talk to us."

Dottie didn't respond, in fact she couldn't. Her hand had gone back up to her throat, squeezing it once in an attempt to reassure herself that it was still there. Her mouth opened and nothing came out. She felt herself choke on the panic that was beginning to pool into her veins. Fingers still wrapped around her neck, she tried again and when nothing happened, she had to force herself not to start crying.

She couldn't speak.

"She's still in shock, brother," Al scolded, "How would you like it if you woke up with a couple of strangers?"

Dottie caught the term of endearment, briefly wondering how two brothers could be so different in personality and height. The shorter of the two was studying her now, taking in the way she seemed to be curling into herself with a hand clutched almost dangerously tight around her throat. Like a lightbulb turning on, his face smoothed out to a look of surprise.

"You can't talk, can you?"

It wasn't really a question and from the way she flinched from it, there wasn't much hope of getting a reply right away. Ed's lips pressed together into a thin line, catching the look his brother was sending him. He was being told to be nice and back away if she didn't want to answer.

"Am I right? Can you not talk?"

Lifting her chin up so her gaze could match his, she made a sharp and jerky nod that seemed to suck away whatever had been colouring the atmosphere around them. Dottie watched the flashes of expressions that Ed filtered through; pity, anger, and regret were the ones she caught before he sighed and pulled on what he hoped was a cheerful grin for her.

"Alright, that makes a bit more sense," He clapped his hands together, "I thought you were ignoring me."

Noticing her look of distress, Al quickly jumped into the conversation, "Don't worry about him. He's just upset about the sand. We're sorry for not realising sooner about your – er – difficulty?"

Dottie smiled weakly at him as her nerves began to settle. He seemed like the kinder brother, she mentally noted to herself. There was an awkward pause between them, each trying to piece together what to say first.

"I'm Ed," The blond motioned to himself, "And this is my younger brother, Al."

Dottie snorted at that, unable to help herself as she started miming what she was thinking; both hands flat out with one higher than the other. It wasn't perfect but it got her point across.

_Aren't you a little short to be the 'older' brother?_

"You're not exactly tall either!" Ed quipped back, cheeks turning pink from irritation.

_I'm still taller than you!_

* * *

Dottie sat at the outside bar, an Elric on either side as they went between asking her questions to ordering more food. They had bought her a notebook; large enough to write a chunk of her thoughts down, but small enough so her arms didn't go numb from holding it all day. It was bound in a yellowing leather, matching the pages inside.

"So, you really don't know how you got here?" Ed asked, his mouth full of fried eggs and bacon strips. He had gotten her a plate as well after hearing her stomach growl, not even thinking twice about it.

Dottie shook her head and shovelled some food into her mouth. She took the pen that Al held out to her with a grateful smile and started scribbling down what she wanted to say.

'No,' She paused for a moment, 'I don't remember much either.'

Al read what she'd written aloud for his brother who hadn't ceased his merciless attack on his third meal since sitting down, "Well what _do _you remember?"

Dottie didn't answer, instead deciding to tap the pen on the wooden table to an erratic beat to help piece together what was going on in her head. She had memories; They just slipped through her metaphorical fingers before she could grab onto them. Her basic knowledge was still there but anything personal seemed to be wiped clean from her mind. There wasn't anything she could willingly remember besides the faint sounds of a woman laughing and the sight of a pair of stone doors.

'I remember white.' Dottie finally wrote, feeling slightly snubbed when she realised that the brothers had moved on and were talking with the owner of the bar. She blinkingly owlishly at the man who was switching on the radio and shushing anyone who was talking. The small appliance wasn't much, reflecting dimly whatever the sun decided to throw at it. Her eyebrows scrunched together as a grainy image of it smashed on the ground flashed through her mind's eye. The man shushed her then, frantically twisting the volume dial as the voice on the other end burst through.

_I'm pretty sure shushing a mute girl is a hate crime._

"_God's children who live upon this land, pray in faith and you shall be saved."_

Dottie's eyebrows shot up at that, disturbed from her thoughts by the sudden déjà vu that blew through her head. The phrase had ignited a sense of danger in her, eyes flicking to the Ed who seemed to share the same enthusiasm about the man speaking.

"So, what are you guys, like street performers or somethin'?"

Dottie choked on the bacon that was now half falling from her mouth, caught somewhere between being offended and laughing. She wasn't exactly the most presentable, strutting around with sand acting as a second layer of skin. The lack of shoes was also a problem, she thought, not touching on the fact she couldn't even make out what colour her dress was. Dottie had lifted the edge of the skirt up an inch out of curiosity earlier and had balked at the obvious line that showed just how dirty her legs were.

"Seriously? Do we _look _like street performers to you?"

"Yeah that's why I asked." The man said, looking the picture of innocence.

Ed put his drink down and jumped down from his seat, earning an amused look from Dottie, "Let's go, Al, Red."

_Red?_

Dottie looked around for this mysterious person before meeting the expecting gazes of the brothers. She pointed at her chest with a confused expression, wondering why they went with such a strange nickname when they could have asked her name. Her mouth dropped into an 'o' as she realised that they had, and she hadn't answered them.

_But why __**Red**__? _

She never got to write her question down as the sound of something smashing against the floor made her look down, the thought disappearing at the sight of the whatever had fallen. It was beyond repair, she thought, it wouldn't even make good scrap metal with the state it was in. The unmistakeable absence of the preacher's voice was what tipped her off, a blessing in disguise that made her grin.

"Hey, Easy! I didn't _mean _anything by it!"

A sheepish look crept up Ed's face, "Don't worry, we'll fix it."

"How? It's smashed to hell!"

"Watch and learn, old man."

Dottie reached out to tug at Ed's coat gently enough to be polite, but harsh enough to demand his attention. She had given it back after they decided to go eat lunch together. There had been a flash of light before he had shrugged it back on, the material looking ten times better than it had.

_What the hell are you __**doing**__? _

"Hm?" Ed looked at her, "What? Never seen alchemy before?"

_Alchemy!?_

Noticing the grip on his coat, Ed pointed at the circle Al had begun drawing on the stone street and said something she didn't quite catch. Dottie watched at the suit of armour placed the broken pieces of the radio into the centre of his pavement art, carefully making sure they hadn't covered any of the intricate lines that were etched in white chalk. Something about the pattern was familiar to her, begging her to get closer.

Al's clapping brought her out of her thoughts as a brilliant pale, blue light burst through the chalk markings, encasing the broken metal pieces that were in the middle. She hadn't even realised the crowd that had been drawn to their strange trio. Dottie blinked and it was all over, and standing in the circle was the same radio that carried the lively preacher's voice.

A hand nudged her side, drawing her attention to Ed who had walked around the crowd to get back to her side, "How was that for your first experience with Alchemy?"

Dottie stared blankly at where broken pieces of metal had been, her mind doing mental loops at what she had just seen.

It was amazing, utterly and completely amazing.

She couldn't help the wide smile that brightened her face as a simmering of excitement began to bubble in her stomach. She nodded vigorously at him, wondering if alchemy was something that they both did or if only Al could. It seemed her mood was contagious as Ed grinned, pleased at her reaction.

"There, see? How's that?" Ed asked the man.

"Incredible! It's a miracle! You've been touched by the Sun God, just like Father Cornello!"

"Touched by who now?"

"It's not a miracle! It's alchemy." Al explained kindly, trying to cover for his brother's obvious deflated attitude.

"Oh, so you two are alchemists. Right, I've heard of them." Someone in the crowd said.

"Then, maybe you've heard of _us!_ We're the Elric Brothers." Ed announced, crossing his arms out of pride.

Dottie winced at the stab of pain that had suddenly shot through her skull, slamming repeatedly somewhere deeper within her mind. A flash of white blinded her momentarily as the crowd started shouting to each other.

"The Elric brothers, you say?"

"Wait, I do know that name!"

"Edward Elric! The Fullmetal Alchemist!"

The throng of people flocked to the wrong brother then, showering him with praise over being the youngest State Alchemist in history. Dottie laughed at the expression on Ed's face, going a shade of red as she tried to muffle herself.

"No! Um, it' not me!" Al's voice cut through the crowd, making them all turned to face the blond.

"What? You mean it's the little guy over there?"

"WHO'S LITTLE!? COME HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE I DARE YA!"


	2. A False Prophet

**A False Prophet**

* * *

_These guys are fucking crazy._

The men were talking about someone called Father Cornello with a deep passion that Dottie could only watch with unease. He was a prophet, they had explained, one who could perform miracles like resurrection. Religion nuts weren't Dottie's forte and Ed obviously shared the same sentiment, his expression twisting into a borderline scorn as he stared at the crowd. She was already half-hiding behind Al from trying to escape the clamour of voices, suddenly grateful for the distance it put between her and the compelled men.

"This guy is claiming he can bring the dead back to life? Now _this _is something I've gotta see."

Dottie cocked her head in confusion at that.

They didn't hang around much longer after Ed's statement, having to ask one of the men where they could find their 'beloved Father.

"Red!" Al called from a few steps behind her. She briefly wondered why they were still bothering with her. They had no obligation to do any more than they already had, hell they'd dragged her out of the desert and even fed her!

Her stare must have unnerved Ed who gave her a rushed hand movement which clearly meant for her to _'hurry up!'._

"I'm not carrying you again if that's what you want!"

Dottie sped off after them with a quiet smile on her face.

Her feet slapped against the warm ground, once again being reminded of the fact she was running in bare feet. The trio turned into a nearby street that was lined with people all heading in the same direction they were. Dottie scowled as Ed sped up, already finding it hard to keep up with the blond bullet. Al noticed the shift in her expression and just gave her a nervous giggle that she took as an apology for his brother. They went around another corner and the street seemed to lead into an open town square.

There was a large crowd that faced the white building, built into the form of a church. A bald man in a black garb had his arms outstretched as flowers fell around him, catching one in the palm of his hand. There was a flash of red light before a statue of steel wrapped around him, complete with floral ornaments. Dottie couldn't help but marvel at the 'miracle,' her mouth caught in an 'o' as she turned excitedly to Ed to see what he thought.

"So that's it, huh? What d'ya think?" Ed asked his brother, hand raised to block some of the sunlight that shined down.

"There's nothing _to _think. That's alchemy, no doubt about it!"

Dottie sighed in disappointment at their dull reactions. Things like this were probably boring to them at this stage in their lives. She was debating if asking about alchemy would be strange when her gaze dropped to the ground and she spotted the wooden box Ed was standing on. She snorted, effectively capturing his attention with the look of mirth that had spread across her face, turning the corners of her mouth up sharply in contrast to the frown that had been there beforehand.

"What?"

* * *

Liore was beginning to make her feel uneasy, setting alight a cold fire within her bones with every passing moment. Dottie grimaced as she pushed open the doors to the Church, slipping in without so much as anybody batting an eye. The people here lacked the ability to be suspicious, she summed up, probably under the impression that Father Cornello could protect them from everything.

_The faithful are always a hit or miss; either the best people to know, or the worst. _

Al stopped abruptly, making her whack into the back of his armour. Her mouth was already forming various curses as she fell backwards and nursed her stinging nose.

"So, _this_ is the almighty Leto."

Dottie tapped the youngest brother's arm and gestured for him to check if she was bleeding. He gave a gentle shake of his head as well as a string of apologies. She waved him off, happy her nose was only being a little bitch and not broken. She shifted to the left so she could see the woman Ed was speaking with.

Rose was pretty, with deep brown hair and a pink fringe. Her skin was darker than Dottie's and for the third time since coming to the desert city, she found herself wondering if she should start tanning. The brunette was kneeling at the altar, but quickly stood up to brush some dirt off of her dress.

"Welcome! Are you interested in Letoism?"

"Nope, can't say I am. Not really the religious type."

Rose looked down in what seemed like a form of pity for the unbeliever, "Well I'm sorry to hear that. To know God, is to know hope."

"If we believe in Divine Grace, and through him, all things are possible," The woman seemed to puff up with some soft of pride, "If you believed, I'm sure Leto would bless you both and make you grow taller!"

Dottie was close to cackling before realising she had meant her as well. Eyes wide with shock and offense, she crossed her arms across her chest in defence whereas Ed launched forward with a clenched jaw.

_Am I really that short!?_

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"She's just trying to help, brother!" Al tried calming him down, keeping a good few inches away from the brunette who looked none the wiser about the backhanded statement she had just given.

Dottie huffed, brushing the insult off quicker than her companion. She reached out a hand to tug on Ed's coat, drawing his attention from Rose who continued to dig her own grave with the Alchemists. He gave her an expectant look before digging through his pockets and pulling out her notebook and pen.

'_Thank you!' _She wrote, tapping the words with her fingertips before scurrying off to one of the many wooden pews. Shifting further down the bench, her eyes raked over the architecture as she started sketching it down.

The Church was large with an intimidating amount of masonry dotted along the corners and edges of the ceiling. It must have taken a good few years to make, meaning the people here were already too far gone along the path of devotees to be _told_ their prophet was a fake. They needed to be shown and even then, the fallout would be something she didn't want to be around for.

Dottie didn't notice as Ed dropped down beside her.

He fished around through his pockets again and this time pulled out a dark bound book, kicking his feet up onto the pew that was stacked in front of them. The blond glanced down as the girl's fingers weaved themselves through the red material of his coat, deciding to say nothing. It was a form of comfort, he ruled to himself, something she was doing to try calm herself down from whatever was going on in her head. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair before listing off elements as well as their required quantities.

Ed snapped the journal closed, "That list represents the complete chemical makeup of a human body for the average adult. It's been calculated to the last microgram, but still, there's never been _one _reported case of successfully creating a human life."

Dottie wondered why the idea of resurrection had made them so suspicious earlier, and from the stare he was giving Rose she was glad she hadn't asked. There was a heavy weight behind every word he spoke, like he ached with each fact he was placing on the metaphorical table between the two of them.

"And you're telling me, something modern science can't do, you can do with _prayer?" _

Whatever sympathy she felt beforehand had dropped to a bubbling irritation. The amnesiac had to fight the urge to elbow him at that. Saying an opinion and giving facts on the matter was alright, but belittling the person on the other side was plain wrong. It would just make Rose more stubborn and defensive if he spoke down to her.

"Lift thy voice to God, and the prayers of the faithful shall be answered!"

"Did I mention that those ingredients I listed off," Ed slung his arm behind his head with a hollow smile, "A kid could them all at the market for the spare coin in his pocket."

It was the way he said it that clued Dottie in on the personal note of his story, her eyes dashing between the brothers. Al had been quiet the whole time, eyes focused on his feet with the determination a puppy had when it didn't want to look at the mess it made.

"As it turns out, humans are pretty cheap."

_Well that was just unnecessary._

The devastation in Rose's eyes blocked out whatever point they had tried to get across, turning her back on the trio instead as she stared up at the statue of Leto.

"No! That's blasphemy! People are….. we are _all _children of God, created in his image…"

"You have to understand. Alchemists are scientists. We don't believe in unprovable concepts like creators or Gods," Ed continued, "We lay bare the creative principles of this world, and pursue truth. It's ironic really that through the application of science, we have been given in many ways the power to play Gods ourselves."

"So, you're putting yourself on the same level as God?" The brunette's hands curled into fists, "That's just sheer arrogance!"

"You know, there's an old myth about a hero who flew on wings made of wax. He thought he could touch the sun, but when he flew too close, his wings melted and he came crashing back down to Earth. Right, Al?"

Dottie shot a look towards Alphonse, balking at how even when in a suit or armour, she could still pick up the aura of contempt surrounding him. She got up from the bench, harshly kicking Ed's legs down so she could stand next to the youngest brother. She didn't trust herself to not jab the blond for being an irrational and loudmouth idiot. It was much easier to get to Father Cornello by being nice to Rose. Insulting and ridiculing her intelligence was just making the situation more difficult.

'_Your brother's an idiot,' _Dottie tapped on the metal arm that was nearest to her, holding up the notebook for him to read, _'and an asshole.'_

"Brother." The scolding tone was enough confirmation that Al agreed with her.

Gold eyes flashed to Dottie in time to see the disapproving and irritated look she was shooting him.

"I'm sorry, miss," He sighed, "This is difficult for me to ask, but do you think your Father Cornello could save an arrogant scientist like me?" He bowed for extra effect, throwing an 'are you happy?' gesture back to the mute girl.

Rose hand's clasped together in joy, completely forgetting the fact Ed had been berating the entire foundation of Letoism moments before, "Of course, that's wonderful! If anyone can lead you to the Creator's light, he can!"

'_Alright, so Rose is an idiot as well.'_

Al coughed to hide his snort.

* * *

Dottie fell in step with Rose who stayed near the back of the group. The brunette in question fretting over when the last time the younger girl had had a bath. She pulled out a handkerchief before making their way through the arched doors in the front of the Church, and attempted to clean whatever she could reach as they waddled through the labyrinth of corridors. Nobody spoke besides the guide and Rose, each having a very different topic of conversation.

"I swear," She huffed as she rubbed at the girl's cheek, "The least they could have done was get you a _hairbrush!"_

Dottie smiled at her, enjoying the almost maternal way she fussed over her. They didn't pay attention to the slowing of their guide who gestured towards a rather large door.

"This way please," He opened it, "Father Cornello is a busy man, as you can imagine."

The creaking sound was enough to set Dottie on edge; nobody good had a door that squeaked like that. It was dark, and there seemed to be nobody inside but them.

_Well this isn't sketchy at all, _Dottie thought sarcastically to herself.

"But you're in luck, he's decided to spare a moment for you."

"Yeah? Thanks! We understand, we won't take up too much of his time." Ed didn't seem to be picking up on the definite murderer vibes Dottie was getting from the man.

"Good, then it's agreed. We'll make this _quick._"

A hand wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her back into a guard that had seemingly come out of nowhere. Dottie whipped her head around, spotting Ed a few steps ahead of her with a pair of men restraining him using their spears. Their guide had pulled out a gun and was aiming it straight at Al's helmet. She felt the blood drain from her face as there was a resounding _bang _as the trigger was pulled, the suit of armour dropping to the floor.

Dottie could hear Rose let out a horrified scream at the sight, prompting her to tear her gaze from Al and to the woman that writhed against the guard that restrained her.

"Brother! What is the meaning of this!?" She yelled, tears collecting in the corner of her eyes that narrowed.

"Rose," The guide started calmly, "These men are heretics that were going to trap, Father. They're demons!"

Dottie wasn't jealous that he didn't point the statement at her, instead moving back to watch in horror as the helmet rolled to a stop. The questions of why there wasn't any blood or head in it dying on the tip of her tongue.

"No! If that's why, then Father Cornello would surely have never allowed them to -!"

"He _has _allowed this," A sly smirk settled on his face as he held the gun up again, "The words of Father Cornello are the words of God… This is _God's will!"_ He stared deranged down the barrel of the gun as it pointed at Dottie.

"You said only the men were heretics!"

"Demons flock in packs, Rose."

There was a moment of fresh and raw tension as the man's finger snaked around the tripper and licked his top lip.

"Oh?"

A gauntlet clasped around the gun then, effectively manoeuvring it so it was no longer aimed at her head. Dottie felt her heart stop at the sight of the headless Al tossing the weapon aside. His voice was coming from the _empty armour._

"That's a mean God."

Ed's movements were nothing but a blur as he elbowed his captors in the stomach and flipped them onto the ground. There was a sickening sound of bones breaking as Al slammed his fist into the Brother's face. Dottie's guard released his grip rather quickly at that, turning to run. Thinking fast, the blond alchemist picked up Al's head and hurled it, hitting him squarely into unconsciousness.

"Strike!"

"My head!"

She felt like she was going to be sick.

"Wh-wh-what's going on!? Why is he hollow!?" Rose cried, face pale as she watched the duo bicker and the other girl's blank stare that was jumping between the brothers and the helmet that she was now walking purposefully towards. Dottie picked it up with shaking fingers and turned it over, inspecting it with a cross between morbid curiosity and disbelief.

"It's always –" Ed rapped on Al's chest piece.

"-been like this!"

"You mean... There's nothing _inside!?_ He's completely hollow?!"

Dottie dragged herself over to Al, still holding his helmet which she held out for him to take. There was a controlled calm atmosphere around her, contrasting greatly with the tear tracks that had cleared away some of the sand still stuck to her cheeks. She gave a weak but encouraging smile as Al carefully took his head from her, leaving them in a stunned and cautious silence.

The younger brother recovered the quickest, "This is what happens when you trespass into God's forbidden domain." His hands went to work at trying to repair himself and Dottie noticed how he seemed to be speaking more to her than Rose, "And my brother, Edward, too."

_Too?_

"Okay! Let's stop this topic, please!" Ed gave an irritated pout, scratching the back of his neck out of what he tried to pass as annoyance. Dottie could see through it though, noticing the tell-tale sign of emotional discomfort as he grit his teeth, "_This_ is God's true nature, Rose."

"No! There has to be some sort of mistake!"

"Geez, this woman's already seen this much and she _still_ believes in that fraud of a Father." Ed's complaint went unheard. Rose had already delved into giving theories as to how _her _God was still innocent of the things they had insinuated. Sighing, he noticed Dottie staring worriedly at the woman for her rambling and gave him a wry grin, "Do you have the guts to see the Truth?"

* * *

Dottie had never been so close to another person in her life, and quickly realised the reason for it; she hated the way other people felt. Her eyes were skittish, jumping around in the darkness of Al's chest piece as she did her best to not make awkward eye contact with the woman opposite her. Rose wasn't even trying to be mindful of Dottie's personal bubble, having popped it within the first ten seconds of being cooped up together. There was another jostle and she managed to mouth a rather impressive curse before being crushed by the older girl that went flying.

Hissing, Dottie spat out some pink hair that had managed to wedge itself between her front teeth. Sweat was beading at her forehead from the heat. The desert was hot enough, but being jammed into an enclosed space with another furnace of a body made it unbearable.

They couldn't even hear the boys talking that well, their voices muffled through the metal as well as the strange throw-over Al had put on. Occasionally there was a definite tone of Ed's voice that rang through, followed by a much deeper one.

"That's Father Cornello!" Rose whispered into her ear.

There was a slight _ding, _as the chest piece popped open a crack so the girls could hear the conversation better.

"…. You've made a religion through fraud. What do you _want? _If it's money, you can use the stone to get as much as you want." Ed spoke matter-of-factly. Dottie could hear he was trying his best not to smirk.

"It isn't money," There was a pause, "No, I _want _money, but even if I remain silent it enters my wallet through donations from my believers, you see. On the other hand, I need _obedient_ believer who would be happy to throw their _lives away _for me."

She stole a glance towards Rose who had started shaking, looking inches away from bursting into hysterical tears. Ignoring the twisting in her stomach, Dottie placed a hand on hers in comfort which was suddenly grabbed and squeezed.

"The greatest army in the world! One that doesn't fear _death_! I've steadily advanced my preparations. Behold! After several years, this country will be _mine!" _

Wet drops fell onto Dottie's shoulder, a bolt of sympathy shooting through her for the tanned girl. Her free hand was inevitably used to wrap Rose into a semi-awkward hug, leaning more towards the woman who clung on to her as she sobbed quietly.

Edward's laughter bounced off the sides of Al's armour, ringing clearly and loud enough to shock the girls out of their moment.

"Nope. Don't care."

"What!? Don't just say you 'don't care'! You… aren't you from the surrounding countries!? In the Army!?"

_Ed and Al are in the Army? Aren't they a little young? _Dottie frowned, realising that she knew next to nothing about the boys who had found her in the desert. She winced, realising it wasn't like they'd known each other for their whole lives or anything. It had barely been a day.

An angry swipe of Rose's arm made Dottie flinch as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"I guess you could that. Country? Army? Dunno much about stuff like that."

The girls poked their fingers through the sliver opening, wrapping them around the chest piece to push it open a little bit more.

"I'll get straight to the point. Give me the Philosopher's Stone and I won't say a word about your fraudulence to the people of this city!"

"Ha! You're trying to _bargain _with _me? _My followers won't believe a word from the likes of you! I am _loved _by them! They are my faithful servants! That's right. No matter _how much _you yell they will _never _believe you! My stupid followers will never believe a _word _from you!"

Dottie hissed as Rose suddenly gripped her hand tight enough to crack the skin and leave crescent moons behind from her nails. Flinching from the pain, she kept her hand in place knowing the older girl needed the comfort. There was a slow clap that she could only think belonged to Ed.

"Well, I didn't expect anything less of the Father, and Founder." A mocking tone entered his voice, "Thank you for letting us hear such a splendid speech. Yeah, maybe your followers won't believe a word we say," Metal fingers slipped between the opening and wrenched the chest piece off completely, "_But! _What about what _she'd _say?"

Rose was staring at Father Cornello, her eyes dark with betrayal and misery. She jumped out of the space, giving Dottie a small bit of relief now that she could breathe properly again. The heat was already drawing itself out from their hiding spot.

"Father! Is what you just said true!?" The force at which the brunette had jumped sent Al stumbling back a step, "Have you _tricked _us!? The miracle of God's power… You weren't going to grant me my wish? You weren't going to bring him _back!?" _Tears had leapt up at the last word making it difficult for her to talk.

There was a strained silence, an ill-boding moment Dottie recognised as a shift in power. Something was brewing in the fake Father's mind. Sitting a little further back into Al's chest piece, she tried to cover herself so as not to attract any more attention.

"Hm… maybe the messenger of God, was a lie…. but with this stone, and Human Transmutation that countless alchemists have failed at, your lover can be resurrected!"

_She isn't __**that**__ stupid to join him, is she? _

"Rose! Don't listen to him!" Al pleaded, catching onto what was about to happen.

_She wouldn't…_

"Come now, be a good child."

"If you go you won't be able to come back!"

"What's wrong? You are one of us, Rose."

"Rose!"

"Am I not the only one that can grant your wish? Remember your beloved!"

A tremble ran through Rose's body, one that Dottie knew meant he had struck a nerve. She watched as the tanned girl turned her back on the three of them, choosing to follow Father Cornello instead of what was right.

"I'm sorry, this is the only thing I can rely on…"

"Good child," Father Cornello's voice broke through the tense silence, "Now, I will have to purge these heretics that threaten the future of my religion." He grabbed a lever and pulled. Clinking chains filled the room as what seemed like a tail entered Dottie's peripheral vision.

"This Philosopher's Stone is a really impressive thing. Is this the first time you've seen a chimera?"

A creature staggered out from the darkness and Dottie withered in exasperation. Their situation just kept getting worse and worse no matter what they did.

The animal had the head of a lion with scales that ran up the left side of it's face, encasing the eye. Its tail was from a lizard and swiped wildly at the ground in agitation as it got ready to pounce. Light shined on the chimera's canine teeth; large, pointy, and flesh tearing. Paling, Dottie took a few steps backwards and started scanning the room for places she could stay to get away from the inevitable battle about to take place. She couldn't fight that thing! She barely knew how to curl her fist into a proper punch!

"Well then I suppose I'll need a weapon!" A clap of hands and a bright flash of light signalled that Ed had just transmuted himself something to use: a long metallic spear. The chimera launched itself forward and reached out, claws going through it like butter and tearing at his clothes.

"Edward!" Rose screamed, panicked.

Dottie glared up at her. She didn't deserve to be worried, she had chosen her grave to lie in. Granted, she wouldn't have to lie in it as quickly as the rest of them.

"How is that?" Father Cornello laughed, "How do claws that can cut through _iron _feel?"

The State Alchemist's fringe hid his face from them, although Dottie managed to catch the way his mouth twisted into a grin, "What was that?"

The chimera's claws snapped off, falling to the ground with a roar of pain.

"Sorry, but this is made a bit _special."_

Al stopped Dottie from moving towards Ed just as the chimera's teeth sank into his arm, a ferocious growl resonating which quickly turned to whimpers of pain.

"What's wrong stupid cat? Get a good _taste_." The blond spat darkly before kicking straight upwards and getting the chimera in the face, shattering teeth and bone.

"Have a good look, Rose! _This _is Human Transmutation…. The bodies of sinners that have breached God's domain."

Dottie took in the sight of glittering metal, eyes widening at the piece of machinery that flexed and shifted when Ed went to rip off his coat. His clothes were partially wrecked but otherwise still intact, exposing his right arm and left leg to his audience.

"Artificial limbs of steel, 'automail'….. I see now, _this _is why you're named the Fullmetal Alchemist!"

"Come and get some you third rate! I'll show you the difference between us!"

A low chuckle came from Father Cornello, "I see, I see. _This _is the reason behind the mystery of why a _brat_ like _you _could earn the title of Fullmetal." He cocked an eye towards Rose, "Take a good look at these men. They have performed something that is **forbidden** amongst Alchemists. They've committed the greatest crime!"

Dottie heard static then, drowning out the world around her as images flashed through her mind. They were dark in patches, and yet overwhelming with colour in others. Her hand came up to grasp onto the front of her shirt, the rush of blood in her ears getting louder and louder with each memory that passed by her mind's eye.

_Two boys playing with chalk in their father's study. _

_A bright flash of light._

_Blood._

Dottie hadn't noticed she'd fallen to the ground. Her fingers were threaded through her hair and pulling hard. The pounding in her head was getting harder with every second she was trapped in her own mind, reliving memories that she hoped weren't hers. She could feel thick bile crawl up the back of her throat, and she choked on it.

There was so much _blood_.

"Brother exchanged his right arm for my soul….. and put it in this suit of armour."

"The two of us tried to resurrect one person and this is what happened. _This _is what it takes to raise the dead." Ed met Rose head on, "You got the guts to do it? Huh? Do you!?"

"And so, you want the Philosopher Stone? If you use this, then your transmutation would be perfect!"

"Don't get me wrong, baldy. We just want that stone to get our original bodies back." A shark-tooth smile appeared on his face, "What I want most is to be like I was before."

"Mr. Cornello, we'll say it again. Give us the stone while you're still not hurt," Alphonse added, raising his fist in a threatening manner.

"Stupid fools! You came too close to God and _fell,"_ There was another transmutation, "This time I will have to send you to God myself!"

A storm of bullets was released from the machine gun positioned on the man's shoulder, hitting the floor and causing a cloud of smoke to coat the area. It was a form of camouflage, Ed realised, using it to their advantage. He searched for Dottie, spotting her a few feet away from him on the ground. Her hands were clasping tightly onto her head as she sat fixated on something he couldn't see in horror.

"Red! We've gotta go!" He yelled at her, transmuting a wall of stone to shield the two of them from the bullets that hailed down. Her eyes flew open wide at the bright light, as if noticing they were in danger for the first time.

Ed grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back into his torso, half-dragging her from the spot as he pushed her to run, "Al! We're getting out of here!"

"Fools! That exit won't open unless I command it to from here!" Father Cornello shouted over the sound of the machine gun gleefully.

"Oh, really?" Ed grinned, releasing Dottie for a moment before clapping and slapping his hands to the wall. There was a flash of light as a door moulded itself from the brick and stone. He reached back to grab her again, "If there ain't a door, I'll just make one!"

She felt her legs leave the ground as she was tossed over Ed's shoulder, nowhere near competent enough to demand to be put her down. They ran down a random hallway, followed closely by another group of men. It should have been obvious there would be a group already waiting for them when they turned another corner.

"The kids really gonna fight with us?" One of them spoke.

"Before you get hurt, just give up and give u-"

_**Clap**_

There were yells of surprise and even more groans of pain as Ed made his way through them, efficiently knocking them out.

"Out of the way!" Al warned, kicking one of the others in the face before tearing down the corridor and into another. They passed by an open door which caught Ed's attention.

"Oh? What's this room?"

"This is where Father Cornello does his broadcasting." Rose answered, being put on the floor gently by Alphonse. Her eyes flickered to the girl still slung over Fullmetal's shoulder that twitched at her voice. Al had grabbed the older girl during the shoot out and run. She rubbed a hand subconsciously over her cheek.

"He's planning something evil," The suit of armour whispered to the brunette who seemed equally disturbed by the look that was spreading over Ed's face, "_very _evil."

* * *

Dottie sat on the railing of the bell tower, swinging her legs aimlessly as the wind blew and tried to caress some of the panic she was feeling away. She hadn't noticed that they were outside until she'd been dumped onto the rooftop by her favourite suit of armour. There was a slight awkwardness in the air between them now, at least on her end there was. Her scalp still ached from trying to pull her hair out by the roots, yet it was a dull pain compared to the pounding that was coming from somewhere behind her eyes.

Rose was also there, talking with Al about why he had to steal the bell.

"If we want to create something, we have to pay a cost. Brother is called a genius because he paid through effort, so he's like this now."

"But, _because_ you paid the sacrifice, your mother must have been….."

Shifting out of her thoughts, she couldn't help the bubble of residual anger towards the brunette. At first, she had been sympathetic and even enjoyed the limited conversation they had together. Rose had fussed over her like an older sister, treating her with a soft kindness that she couldn't remember having ever felt before. The fact she had willingly changed sides after being told their Father was a fake, was an outright betrayal in Dottie's mind. She wasn't a forgiving person she was beginning to realise, and neither was the kind that could deal with the type of naivety and ignorance Rose oozed.

"The body couldn't have been called human," Came Alphonse's reply, a stick of chalk in his hand as he continued to draw the transmutation circle.

An image painted itself across Dottie's vision for the briefest of moments, a replay of what she had seen during the fight with Father Cornello. It didn't give her the same rising hysteria like before, instead fuelling her with a shot of adrenaline. The thing that had stared up at her through half-formed and dead eyes from that study floor hadn't been human either.

"Brother and I quit working with human transmutation, but Ed wants to return me to my original body and I want to return him to the way he was before. It's risky, and we'll probably pay for it with our lives, buts it's the path we've chosen."

Dottie spared a glance towards the traitor, taking in the way Rose's mouth curled like she'd bitten into a lemon. She was reluctant to admit something to herself.

"That's why you mustn't be like us, Rose."

_**Clap.**_

She felt the warmth from the alchemy spark in the air, and watched how a replica of a speaker appeared. It was completed with wiring that led back to the broadcasting room in the Church of Leto. No sooner was it finished, did the voice of Father Cornello burst through. It was almost too easy as he started detailing how he _really_ felt towards his followers as well as how he wasn't even a true prophet. A smirk broke out on Dottie's face as she saw the peoplee in the streets freeze as they listened.

"When- When did you push that button!?"

"From the beginning. All uncut."

"H-H- How could you do this!?"

"You… You _brat! _I'll kill you!"

The sound cut off then, leaving the city in an uncomfortable and stunned silence. Alphonse and Rose looked at each other, one upset with the turn of events and the other worrying over his brother. Dottie hopped off the railing, equally as anxious and grabbed onto Al's arm to tug him towards where the Church stood.

"You want us to go?"

Dottie nodded so quickly she gave herself whiplash.

Static cursed through the air and become stronger the closer they got. They were a street away and had been making what they thought was good time until there was a loud, grating noise that shook the homes around them. Dottie was the first to spot the fist-shaped stone that dug through the ground near the fallen body of Father Cornello. She paused to look at the indents the impact of the stone had made, admiring them as the groundwork seemed to be made from granite.

"So, it was another fake?" Al asked, stepping close to where his brother stood.

"Yeah, just another dead end," Ed sighed, having slumped down into a sitting position now, "And I _finally _thought I could get you your body back."

"I'm more worried about you! Automail causes a lot of problems….."

"Can't help it. We'll have to look elsewhere."

Dottie made a move to join the brothers, when she spotted Rose had sunk to her knees on the dirty ground. She was a mess of sobs and tears.

"No…. this has to be a lie because….. he said he could bring him _back."_

"Rose, give it up." Ed spoke harshly, ignoring the distress the girl was currently in. Dottie would have elbowed him if not for the unsettled bitterness she felt at being thrown away earlier.

"Why does it have to _be _like this? What am I supposed to do _now? _How am I supposed to _live_ now!?" Rose yelled, her fists bunching up in her dress as she hunched over, "Tell me! _Please!"_

He sighed at that, looking at her with something Dottie would have placed between sympathy and irritation, "Think about that on your own. Stand up and walk. After all, you have perfectly good legs to stand on."

Ed walked away then, tailed by Alphonse who shot one last sad look at Rose. Their shadows were long as they were casted by the setting sun. Dottie hadn't moved yet, her resolve crumbling at the empty look the brunette was casting into the sky. She knelt down beside her and did the only thing she could.

The hug wasn't as awkward as before, the difference in height corrected through the way they were sitting. Dottie's arms were looped around her shoulders, bringing her as close as she could.

"Why?" Rose's voice cracked as her head rested on the other girl's shoulder.

Squeezing her tighter as a response, she felt the brunette shake and a few tears fall onto her bare skin as she cried.

Dottie didn't let go until a resounding _'Red!' _let her know their time in Liore was up.


	3. An Abandoned Town and a Stone Coal Deal

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who left me reviews on Dottie! I'm so happy everyone likes her! Writing somebody who's mute is definitely a lot harder than I thought it would be, and is why some of my updates and chapters are slower than others, and can also be a bit stiffer. Reading reviews on her honestly makes my day, and so thank you again :)

This was a monster to write, let me tell you. It took way too long to put together and edit than I thought it would!

[Agnate is based on the manga _and _the 2003 anime, since Brotherhood is technically just the manga.]

* * *

**An Abandoned Town**

* * *

Dottie could have cried when she found out there were bathrooms on the train.

The space wasn't tiled, instead there were planks of wood lining the walls and floors which she could see were warped slightly from water that had spilled from the dingy tub. There was steam coming off of the water that filled it, a pleasant and fresh citrus scent coming from it as the train jostled contently from side-to-side.

There wasn't a second of hesitation before she was jumping into the cloudy water, head dunked so she could wash some of the sand out of her hair. The heat from the bath was fogging up the window and making drops of condensation trail down in fat streaks.

Her fingers were puckered and pruned when she got out, drying herself with one of the white towels. Ed had tossed it at her alongside a change of clothes that he had managed to grab before they were meant to leave Liore.

Dottie liked the outfit, finding the whirlaway skirt to be her favourite part. It was dark blue and fell to her knees, covering the scratches and bruises that littered her upper thighs from when she woke up. The blouse was a butterscotch yellow with a line of white buttons down the front, which she straightened and tucked into the waistband of her skirt. She pulled on a pair of black loafer shoes, glad she wouldn't have to run along scorching pavements and sharp rocks in bare feet anymore.

Combing her hair with her fingers was less difficult than she thought it would be, deciding to braid it like Ed before realising she didn't know how to. Opening the door to the bathroom, she made one final sweep of the ground to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything before bouncing down the first-class train carriage in search of the Elric brothers. There weren't any walls that separated the seats, not that that would have made it easier to spot the duo.

Dottie hadn't missed the fact that they were the only passengers aboard.

A particularly violent tremor jolted her balance and made her stumble, before she righted herself and marched to the door that led to the next carriage. Her eyes found the suit of armour first, sitting near the back and blocking the blond alchemist from view. She could hear them muttering to one another, jumping between a person they referred to as 'Colonel' and a place called 'Youswell.'

"I heard the rumours but I didn't think it was _this _bad," Ed said from his spot, "Guess it's not exactly a tourist destination."

Dottie didn't bother announcing her presence, dropping into the seat beside him with a satisfied sigh. She grinned at his horribly masked jump of surprise.

"Did you find the bathroom alright?" Al asked her sweetly, leaning across the gap of space between their seats, "You were gone an awfully long time."

'I was trying to get as much sand off of me as possible,' she wrote, 'I can't remember ever feeling this clean!'

Ed snorted at that, catching the sarcasm and tense humour behind her words. His response appeased the girl to his left who decided to stash her notebook and pen in his brother's chest piece, showing she was done with writing for the day. It had become routine for her to stop her ceaseless scribing around dusk, giving her hand the remaining hours of the day to recover from the aches and pains of communicating. The brothers were decent at understanding her hand gestures after spending the better half of the day together on the rocking train.

Dottie huddled down in her seat, intent on making herself comfortable for the remainder of the trip. The conversation carried on without her as Alphonse spurred into the long and hard to follow topic of Alchemy. Her mind bounced from what they were saying to her own thoughts, effectively drowning in them as she pondered over the flashes and fragments of images that sprung behind the back of her eyelids.

She had already come to the realisation that the memories weren't even _hers._

Dottie chanced a glance towards the suit or armour who animatedly chatted with his brother. She hadn't asked where and when they had decided to transmute their mother to bring her back, having ruled it to be a strange and even insensitive thing to strike up a conversation about.

_Hey Ed, Al! I was wondering if you could tell me all the details of the night that ripped __**your**__ limps off and __**his**__ soul out of his body! If you could relive it as many times as possible and bring me through it that would be super appreciated._

Dottie almost groaned at her own monologue.

The train slowed down then, before halting completely at a derelict station. The smell of smoke was making her nose wrinkle as she briefly wondered whether she could snap their carriage's windows closed without it looking weird. The brothers weren't even affected by it, instead having thoughtful expressions on their faces as they seemed to reach a shared idea.

Dottie was ushered out of the train, Ed stepping out first and offering a hand for her to take mockingly. She stuck her tongue out at him before jumping over the gap between the platform and the train.

"This is a little…" Ed spoke after reaching the edge of the town that lay ahead, turning in a complete circle, "I thought a coal mine would be a little livelier but-"

"Everybody's exhausted." His brother finished for him.

Dottie spotted a young boy walking slightly away their group. He couldn't have been anywhere older than eleven, sporting a cropped head of blond hair that contrasted with his tanned skin. He took a sharp turn then, the thick plank wood he had over his shoulder whacking into the back of Ed's head with a loud _thunk!_

"Whoops! Sorry." He spoke, turning to check who he had hit, "Oh!"

"That _hurt, _you little-!"

Like a struck match, the boy's eyes were alight after studying the State alchemist, "Are you guys tourists? Where'd you come from?"

"Ah, we're-"

"Want food? Decided where you're staying?"

"No, but hold on –"

"Dad! We've got ourselves some customers!"

Dottie giggled at the scene, thoroughly enjoying the kid who seemed to be hyped up on caffeine. He was energetic and lively enough to outrun a bull. She spotted a burly man that perked up at the sound of his son's call, covered from head to toe in dirt and sweat.

"Hm? What is it, Kayal?"

"A customer! Revenue!"

"What do mean by _'Revenue'_!?" Ed's questions went unanswered as the duo ignored him completely.

* * *

They were seated in a tavern, beer already placed in men's hands as they drank with each other. Dottie linked her fingers together in her lap, sitting between Ed and Al who were on opposite sides of the table.

"Sorry if it's a little dusty. The salary for coal miners is low, so I'm working at this store at the same time." Kayal's father explained, filling two glasses with a familiar and frothy ale. A group of his friends ear the door started throwing in their two-piece on the situation, shedding some humour in the dimly lit space.  
"One night and three meals, right?" Kayal's mother asked politely, an empty tray pressed gently to her chest. Dottie shook her head as the woman's sight landed on her for an answer, redirecting her gaze to the blond boy that was momentarily distracted. A coy smile danced across the woman's face when she saw the girl elbow him roughly.

He yelped and rubbed at his side, scowling at her. There was a silent tilt of her head and he was answering where Dottie couldn't, "How much for it?"

"It's expensive." Kayal's father pitched in.

"Don't worry, I brought enough."

"Two hundred thousand if you're sharing."

Dottie choked on the water she had been brought, thumping harshly on her chest to try get her lungs to stop burning. Ed blanched in shock and would have slipped out of his chair if it weren't for the hand that was bunched up in his coat.

"Two hundred thousand!? What a rip off!" The blond yelled, already up and out of his chair in anger.

"We don't get too many tourists so when they come, we try to make sure they leave us all their money."

"You gotta be _kidding _me! We'll just go somewhere else." Ed made a move for the front door when Kayal's father clamped his hand over his head, pulling him backwards to the table. Dottie could have sworn she head the man call Ed his 'piggy bank.'

"Forget about it. The prices are the same everywhere else." Kayal admitted guilty.

The girl frowned at him, cluing in to the fact that everyone in the town was a leech. She leant against her open palm to gaze away from the argument that was unfolding in front of her. Briefly, she spotted the brothers ducking behind a table and whispering frantically to one another in an attempt to come up with some form of plan, none the wiser as Kayal slipped into their conversation.

"I could change this rock into gold through alchemy."  
"But Brother, isn't gold transmutation illegal by national alchemist law?"

Ed rounded on Al, a dark look on his face, "If nobody found out, we're fine." He let out a maniacal laugh that began to slowly dry up as he noticed the younger boy sitting next to him.

"Dad! This guy's an alchemist!"

It wasn't long before men had crowded around the brothers, each shoving broken tools and anything else they could find at them in the hopes that they could fix them. Dottie watched owlishly as they worked, bright lights filling up the cramped space of the tavern. A plate was placed gently in front of her, gaining her attention as Kayal's mother gave her a sweet smile. The Elrics joined her a little while after, Ed salivating at the sight of meat.

"I used to do a little bit of alchemy before, didn't have any talent so I quit studying it," Kayal's father said conversationally as he brought over a glass of what Dottie sussed as beer for the oldest Elric, "I'll give you a discount as a favour to a fellow practitioner."

"Alright."

"That'll be 100,000 with the huge discount."

"That's still expensive!"

Dottie stabbed another green bean with her fork, chomping it down with a sip of water. She didn't like the texture of them, but for some reason she felt compelled to finish whatever was on her plate. She hadn't finished the beef slab that was on her plate, and without thinking twice she sliced into it and started piling it onto Ed's plate instead.

"You still haven't actually told me your names."

"Oh right," Ed blinked at the mountain of meat that had suddenly appeared on his plate, "Edward Elric."

There was a pause in the older man's motions before he swiped his plate away as Ed went to stab a piece, "If you're an alchemist named Elric, that would make you a national alchemist?"

"Maybe a little on the _side," _He went to reach for his drink, seconds too slow as it was whisked away, "Hey! What's your _problem?"_

"Get out."

Dottie was mid-sip when she felt arms wrap around her torso and haul her out the door with the brothers. She wasn't tossed out quite the same as the boys, more dropped onto the ground besides them.

"We're customers! What gives?!" Ed yelled from the floor.

"Shoo! We don't have any meals or beds for a dog of the army!"

Al stuck his arm out at that, pointing towards Dottie, "I'm a normal person! I'm not a national anything and neither is she!"

"Oh really!? Come on in then!"

"TRAITORS!"

The mute girl shook her head as the suit of armour gestured for her to join him inside. Patting her stomach to subtly say she wasn't hungry anymore anyway, and threw a thumb towards the eldest brother who sulked a few feet away.

Dottie went to poke his shoulder as Al scurried inside for another round of pints and food. She couldn't imagine why, considering he couldn't exactly _eat _any of the food that was put in front of him.

"Oh. I forget you were here, Red."

_Red, _she scrunched her nose at that, still not used to being called something other than her name.

"Okay, what about Grandma then?" He continued after she raised a fist to pommel him, "What? It's not my fault you've got grey hair already!"

Dottie was regretting not going inside with Al at this point, crossing her arms as she decided to ignore the blond for the rest of her life. She briefly wondered if she was older than the boy that was word vomiting next to her, and felt her irritation slowly being replaced with a makeshift curiosity.

Her finger dug into the sand in front of them as she used it as a makeshift notebook.

Edward had already stopped talking as he read over her shoulder, "Me? I'm fifteen, sixteen in February."

Dottie's eyes went wide as she realised that yes, she _was _older than him.

Hesitating, she went back to trailing her fingers through the sand before letting him see what she had written down.

"You're sixteen!?" Ed yelled in shock, eyes raking up and down the girl in front of him with mischief, "How!? You barely look twelve!"

Dottie slapped him upside the head for that, knowing fully well he was trying to irritate her. It wasn't like she had a complex about her height like him, fully accepting the fact she wouldn't grow taller than 5'1" by now. There were upsides to being short, like being able to ask for a child's ticket on the train.

"Okay-okay!" The blond yielded as he caught her hand that was repeatedly hitting the back of his skull, "What do I have to do to make you _stop, _woman!?"

Dottie's lips quirked at that, pulling a strand of hair from her mouth as an idea formed in her mind. She pointed to his braid and tugged it lightly before pointing to herself.

It took a few tries before Ed's mouth dropped into an 'o' of understanding.

"This isn't what I thought you wanted as an apology, I'm not gonna lie." He spoke a minute later, fingers weaving grey hair into a semi-respectable plait, "I was expecting something like having to buy you a necklace to match your tacky bracelet."

Dottie swotted at his leg, knowing he was joking to lighten the peaceful mood that hung between them. She was sitting cross-legged in front of him as he knelt behind her to pull and twist at her hair, giving her goose bumps all along the backs of her legs. Having somebody play with her hair was heavenly.

She cupped her fingers around the bracelet fondly, knowing the small gem inside was a type of garnet. It was a birth stone, although she couldn't remember whose birthday it was for. There was a pit of hollowness in the bottom of her stomach at the thought of somebody that meant so much to her being forgotten. She shook her head at that, brushing the issue away for another day when she wasn't being studied by a certain Alchemist.

"You know, we still haven't settled on a nickname for you," Ed spoke up, his voice cracking slightly from either the tension he could feel rolling off of her or puberty, "Red isn't _that _bad is it?"

_It's dumb and I don't know why you called me it in the first place, _Dottie wrote calmly and listened as he read it aloud. She noticed that was something he did only when it was her writing. She wondered if it was to make sure she could correct him if he read anything wrong.

"Your bracelet. It was how we found you in the first place, it gave off this red light when the sun hit it so I suppose the colour seemed the next-best-thing to your actual name," Ed dragged his fingers across the nape of her neck, collecting the last remaining strands.

"What _is _your name? Do you remember it now, or is that something Al and I'll never know about you?"

Dottie dug her finger back into the sand beside her and started to scrawl her name, or at least what she could remember her name was. She felt the braid being loosened at the twists as he tried to even out the plait before tying it off with a hair tie that he had somewhere in his coat.

"There!" He exclaimed, dragging it so it hung over her shoulder, "I can't believe you don't know how to plait…. Dottie?"

Dottie nodded softly as he re-read over the scribble, a crease between his eyebrows as he swapped between staring at her and the curved lines of her name in the sand. She clicked her fingers to try re-catch his attention and grinned at the look of surprise on his face.

Ed opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by his stomach growling. He winced and clutched at his gut with a frown.

"I'm starving…... Damn, Al for going inside without me and eating food that he can't even _eat." _

Dottie blinked and suddenly a tray of food was under his nose, connected to a familiar suit of armour that loomed over them, "I secretly brought what they gave me."

"Al!"

"You really only care about yourself, _jeez." _The younger Elric said as Ed attached himself to his leg in grateful tear, "Sorry, Red. I could only get one but you and Brother can share I'm sure."

"Dottie," Ed corrected him, "Her name's Dottie."

"You remember your name? That's great!"

She smiled and shook her head when he offered her part of his sandwich, patting her belly to show she was already full from earlier. He shrugged his shoulders before tearing into it. He managed to clear almost half of his plate when Alphonse decided to start telling him about the corrupt officials that ran the coal mine town, as well as the reason why the people weren't able to get enough food to feed their families.

"I see," He glared into the mug of coffee, "and thanks to that first lieutenant Yoki, we were treated pretty badly. Everybody hates the army…. We've _never _been treated this badly."

Dottie cocked her head and pursed her lips as she gave him her undivided attention, his eyes giving away just how much he had aged in the last two years that he spent in the army.

"When I decided to become a National Alchemist, I was prepared for a little _criticism, _but….. to be hated this much….." A sad yet accepting smile graced his face.

"Maybe I should try to get a National Alchemist License too."

"No way, Al!" Ed laughed, "It'll be enough for me to sit on this bed of thorns by myself! To go so low as to be a dog of the military, huh? I don't have anything to say to that though."

Side-eyeing the boy, Dottie felt herself slump from the thought of just what the duo had been through. They hadn't had the easiest of lives, and adding being 'dogs of the military' must have made it almost unbearable at times. Sighing to herself, she straightened her spine with a newfound resolve. The thought of children going through something so traumatic didn't settle well with her.

"Plus, we ignored the ban and got these bodies," Al said, staring off into the distance blankly, "What would teacher say?"

All at once the brothers froze up, and started shaking with fear, "We'd be killed!"

"_**Out of the way!"**_

Dottie looked up as a trio of men walked up the short staircase to the bar, flinching at the aggression that tinted the one's voice as he flung open the door and stormed inside. She couldn't help but pop up from her spot and make her way to see what was going on, Ed close on her heels.

"Such a dirty store, as usual, Hulling." The man at the front complained, dabbing a hanky beneath his nose. He was shouldered by two brutish look men, one rounded and the other bulky.

"It's _you,_ First Lieutenant. Welcome to this filthy place." Kayal's father replied, seemingly used to the way he was spoken to.

"Nice greeting," A shark smile, "It seems that this place isn't paying its taxes. This doesn't stop at you either, I could say the same of everyone in this town."

"I apologise, but I can't do anything about our pay being low." He placed his hands on his hips.

"Hmph," The Lieutenant began walking towards the table of men playing a card game, "And yet, there is more than enough to just enjoy alcohol?" His mouth twitched, "Which means, it would be acceptable if I lowered your income a little?"

Dottie couldn't hear much over the sudden roar that took over the crowd, however she _did _see Kayal launch a dish cloth at the Lieutenant who backhanded him for it and drew his sword.

"This is a warning, kid."

The sound of metal crashing didn't distract her as she skidded to a halt beside the child, her hands pressing gently to Kayal's busted lip and already-bruising cheek to assess the damage. She grabbed the younger boy's arm to try pull him away from the spot, before shards of polished steel fell to the ground around them.

"What the!? Who is this ruffian!?"

Dottie glanced over her shoulder to see Ed at her back, staring smugly at the broken sword that the First Lieutenant's chubbier man was holding. She gave Kayal a sharp and directional push towards his father which he followed, quickly smothered by his parents who fussed over him as well.

"A passer-by ruffian," Ed responded coldly, eyes watching the situation unfolding in front of him.

"This has _nothing _to do with you! Stay out of this!"

"Nah, I saw the First Lieutenant, so I figured," He fished out his pocket-watch and flashed it, "Why not say hi?"

The man bent down to examine the seal on it, growing paler by the second as he recognised it.

"First Lieutenant, who _is _that kid?"

"You moron!"

Bulky and the man put their heads together to have a whispered conversation, the word 'pipsqueak' not being quiet enough as Ed twitched. He was about to go off when Dottie threaded her arm around his and tugged to distract him. His stare slid over the men like water and zeroed in on the grip she had on his automail. Nodding in understanding, he gave her a silent thank you.

It didn't take a genius to realise Ed had a weird thing about his height.

"I apologise for my subordinate. I am Yoki, the governor of this town." The First Lieutenant finally said, sliding over like an eel to Ed, "It must be some sort of fate that we met like this. Don't stay in _this_ filthy place! This might be a town in the country, but we have the perfect lodgings for you at my home!"

"Then I'll let you take care of things, cause _this_ old man wouldn't let me stay here because he's _stingy." _His smile was a forced brightness that completely won over his audience. A hand was laid on Ed's shoulder, guiding him out of the building with Dottie still on his arm.

The door closed behind them, but not before she heard the last of the conversation inside.

"What a pain in the ass!"

"Which one?" Al asked.

"Both!"

* * *

The First Lieutenant's home was large, and definitely built using the tax money he squeezed out of the people he was supposed to look after. Dottie shifted uncomfortably in her chair that was placed away from Ed, the only saving grace being that it meant she was as far away from the older man as she could have been. He had ordered for his maids to collect her the second she walked through the front door, dragging her away to a be changed into something 'more appropriate' for dinner.

"Don't hold back, please," The First Lieutenant gestured to their plates, "_eat."_

Deciding not to out of spite, Dottie fiddled with the end of her plait and found herself grateful the women who had ambushed her were kind enough to let her keep it in. They had been apologetic throughout the whole process before sliding her into a pink dress that cut into her ribs a bit too closely for her liking.

She spotted a saucer stuffed with salmon slices that had been shoved into neat rolls for whatever reason.

_Me, _she thought with a quirk of her lips.

Edward was already digging into his meal, "I'm eating good stuff, even when the town is like _that."_

"It _is _embarrassing to talk about, but I'm having difficulty collecting taxes."

Dottie would have rolled her eyes and sneered if it wasn't for the fact the First Lieutenant seemed to be doing his hardest to catch her gaze, raising every hair on the back of her neck. Directing her attention back to the blond, she clutched at a layer of frills that stuck out awkwardly along the hem of the skirt line to calm her nerves.

"In addition, there are many ruffians like the boy earlier," He laughed, "Yes, it really is _quite _embarrassing."

"So, they insist they have rights when they aren't even paying their taxes," Ed was cold and collected as he elegantly ate another slither of his steak.

If Dottie didn't know him better, she would have shoved his face into the plate of mashed potatoes for that. She didn't miss his eyes darting to hers in an attempt to gauge her reaction at his personality flip. The flash of worry was all she needed to know he was worried she would think it wasn't an act. Blinking calmly, she picked up her glass and took a steady sip of whatever bubbling drink was filling it.

He didn't need to know that the reason she was being so placid was so their host would stop paying attention to her.

Ed covered his sigh of relief with a napkin, bringing it up to his mouth to dap at the sauce that left a dot on his outer lip.

"That is correct, Sir Edward. You're rather smart, I must say."

"All logic in the world can be represented by the basis of alchemy," He paused, eyeing the girl who hadn't looked up from her drink, "_Exact Trade. _Privilege comes with duty, right?"

"I see, I see. Yes, _wonderful!" _The First Lieutenant said, reaching for a silver bell that seemed to appear out of nowhere, "I wonder if you will accept this as _logical _then, Sir Edward, because you are a National Alchemist. It is thought that you would have influence with the higher ups. This is merely what I _feel _but…."

Ed put his chin into the dips his fingers created as he leaned his elbows onto the table, "Are you attempting to _bribe _me, First Lieutenant?"

"I do not want to spend the rest of my life as a _petty _official of a hike town like _this, _you understand, don't you?"

They didn't stay in the dining room for much longer after that, having been told to rest and think about the man's offer. Two guards, as well as a familiar set of maids came to find and escort them to their sleeping quarters. Dottie was shown to a separate room from Edward, something that stoked a bit of fear into her. The women on either side of her led her through the door that was opposite to the one Ed went into.

"It's a shame you wouldn't let us take off the bracelet,"

"Quite a shame indeed," The other maid added, "Pink doesn't go well with red; you know."

"Now if you wouldn't mind, Little Miss," There was a flurry as she was pulled out of the dress and pushed her towards the bathroom that was added onto the bedroom. The bath was already filled with warm water, and for the second time since waking up in Liore, Dottie realised how badly she needed one.

The maids hadn't done much after that, placing her clothes along with a towel for her to dry off with at the foot of her bed, both calling out for her to 'sleep well' before disappearing. Soaking deeper in the tub, Dottie grimaced at the shade of beige the water was turning. Despite having bathed earlier in the day, it seemed that the combination of warm weather and a dusty mining town was all she needed to warrant another. With that thought in mind, she grabbed the soap and did her best to scrub off her latest edition of dirt from her skin.

After pulling the plug, Dottie fumbled with the nightgown more than she thought was possible. There were a few strings that were meant to act as sleeves which she stuck her head through multiple times until she tossed it aside in frustration. Instead, she rooted through the pile of clothes that were stacked on a chair in the corner and pulled on the yellow blouse she was so used to.

Stepping out of the towel she had dropped to her feet; she buttoned the shirt up halfway before the clear and loud noise of the door busting open made her freeze.

"Dottie, we need to - _holy shit sorry!"_

The door swung close after that, followed by what sounded like a ball being thrown at the wall next to it. Dottie blinked, stunned and amused at what had just happened. The need to laugh ripping through her as she auto-replayed the squeal Ed had made before apologising. Giggling, she finished dressing and slipped out of her room, slapping a hand over her mouth to stop herself from grinning too widely.

The blond alchemist was a door down, crouching and holding his head in his hands as he rocked slightly. She spotted the dent in the wall behind him and summed that he had smashed his head into it. Her feet carried her to just in front of the boy, eyebrow raised as she silently enjoyed the embarrassment that was leaking from him. Golden eyes shot up to meet hers and he squealed, failing backwards and shooting any hope of keeping it together for Dottie. She dropped down beside him and laughed, the silent giggles doing nothing to calm the boy beside her.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't – I mean – I knocked!" He stuttered in his defence, cheeks flushed a bright red, "I swear I wasn't trying to – I wouldn't have – I didn't – It was…..."

Dottie wiped at the tears that were collecting in the corner of her eyes, attention caught as Ed continued floundering.

* * *

"This is horrible."

Dottie couldn't help but agree with whoever was behind her as she stared at the charred building. There was nothing left of it besides the first few centimetres of the tavern, and even then, it was black from the fire. Her hand latched onto Ed's sleeve, suddenly realising just how much these people were under a dictatorship.

"Last night, Yoki's men were hanging around Boss's shop, I saw it I did."

Kayal sat a bit away from his parents with Alphonse beside him. She tugged the blond slightly and dragged him towards the pair. They were only able to hear the last half of the conversation.

"The reason Dad did alchemy was because he wanted to save the town," He spoke softly, eyes trained at his dusty feet in defeat. Dottie felt her heart ache for the boy, wondering why everyone around her seemed to have a tragic backstory to add to their personality.

"Hey Ed. You have enough power to transmute gold, don't you? Transmute us some and save dad and the town." Kayal pleaded with the older boy.

Dottie's eyebrows narrowed at that, unnerved by the sudden one-eighty in attitude. They had thrown them out the day before, refused to feed them and degraded them to top it all off. Did he seriously think that they would help them? There wasn't even the miniscule moment of an apology, just a demand.

Crossing her arms across her chest, Dottie ran the idea of more gold through her head and quickly found the flaws in it. Knowing the jackass mayor, he would just rack up the taxes and make their lives even harder in the long run.

_If there ever was a mini-Stalin, it would be Yoki, _she thought to herself before blinking in confusion. Who was Stalin?

"No."

Dottie looked to where the blond was, knowing he saw the problem with just making more gold. It seemed that Kayal still didn't.

"No way…. Isn't it okay? You won't even lose anything!"

"The alchemic standard is _exact trade," _Ed started, "I don't have any responsibility or obligation to make money for you."

Kayal jumped to his feet and went to grab at him, "And you're supposed to be an _alchemist!"_

"Alchemists live for the sake of the people, huh?"

The apathy in the Elric brother's voice was what made her pluck the boy's hand from his coat, wrenching it away a touch more strength than she had meant to. It wasn't that she didn't _want _to help them, it was just the disregard of how they had treated them earlier. You don't treat somebody like shit one day and then ask them to transmute gold the next. Ed would end up paying a toll that Kayal wouldn't be able to pay by himself. _If _he was planning pay anything at all.

"In any case, even if I _give _you money, it would just get taken away as taxes and then it'll all be over," Edward turned away from him, "I won't get anything either if I do anything for your little problems. If it's _that bad _living here, move out of this town and looks for jobs elsewhere."

"Kid, you don't get it," The voice of Kayal's father broke their strange argument, "This is our _home. _And it'll be our coffin."

_Well that's not morbid and excessive, _Dottie's lips had twitched to a more concerned expression at that. The boy walked to his father, crying heavily as the man's hand rested on top of his head gently. Her shoulders which had been tense, sank at the sight. She cocked her head, wondering what it was like to have somebody pat her on the head like that. She couldn't quite remember.

Her thoughts were disturbed as a flash of red sped past her with Alphonse right behind it.

"Brother, wait!"

Dottie groaned as she ran after the Elrics, catching up as they reached one of the emptier parts of the town. There was a wagon filled to the brim with unrefined coal left on the tracks that led to the mines. The sharp stop didn't save her from banging her nose into the heated metal in front of her. She hissed and brought her hand up to massage the tender spot with a sour glare.

_Freaking, __**again?**_

"Are you really going to leave all those people al-"

"Al," It was a commanding tone, "How much do you think this pile of sludge weighs?"

The younger Elric looked at him suspiciously, "Around one….. or two tons?"

Dottie looked on as the blond pulled himself up and into the wagon, cringing at the amount of black suit that was now stuck to him.

"I'm gonna break the law a little so pretend you're not watching, okay?" He grinned, "You too, Dottie." Pointing at the girl who stared after him amused, he saluted cheekily.

"Huh!?" The suit of armour stepped forward, "Are you telling me to be an accomplice?"

"What? Don't want to? How about you, Dots?"

Her eyebrows popped up at the nickname, preferring it to the others he had thrown at her over their stay in Youswell and nodded vigorously, giving a thumbs up.

"If I said no you would still do it though," Alphonse trailed off, a lightly scolding tone seeping through as he gently reprimanded his brother's behaviour.

There was a clap, and Ed's hands slammed onto the mountain of coal, "Whaaat? If nobody out, then it's okay!"

"Oh well, I just have to put up with such a bad brother then, don't I?"

The girl was standing behind the two alchemist an hour later, hiding from First Lieutenant and his goons. Her arms were sore from the amount of carrying they had had to go to get all the gold bars into the man's home and through to the dining room. The maids were there as well, and despite herself she gave a small and sheepish wave which was returned with a waggle of fingers and a smile. There really _was _an excessive amount of faux-gold, she mused.

"Excuse me?"

"I _said _that I want you to sell me the deed to the coal mines." The authority in Ed's demand was enough to make her give a girlish grin.

"Incredible…."

"And they're all _real?" _The goon asked her, which she nodded in response.

Ed pretended to be confused, "What? Not enough?"

"No! No! Don't be absurd!" The man swatted his hands around, "With just _this _I can say goodbye to this town!" An aura of sparkles surrounded him, "And then...?"

"Yes, I'll be sure to let my friends higher up know about the First Lieutenant."

"Sir Alchemist!" He cried joyfully.

"But gold transmutation is illegal so….. I would appreciate it if you would write a memorandum staying that 'this deed was transferred free of charge, amicably' so that nobody finds out."

"I don't mind! Let's skip to the _legal _part, then shall we?" A pen was drawn out, "But Sir Alchemist, you are _quite _evil!"

The two drew closer together, leaning towards one another with an air of both praise and enthusiasm. If Dottie didn't know any better, she would have sworn they were giggling.

Nope, they were _actually _giggling.

"Oh no, no, just as much as the First Lieutenant," Ed complimented humbly.

The exchange went well after that, having signed a deed with both of their names as well as making Alphonse and a maid sign theirs as witnesses.

* * *

Dottie nursed her notebook to her chest, glancing down over what she had written to make sure the ink hadn't smudged. Tugging at Ed's coat, he turned to face her as they walked towards the tavern that stood opposite the previous one. Apparently they had moved their business into one of their friend's homes.

'_You did well!'_

"Really?" He gloated, his nose hiked up in the air as he smirked, "I always thought I could be an actor."

"Not now brother," Al scolded paternally, "Look what you've done, Dottie, you've boosted his ego!"

She bit her lip to stop herself from smiling at the banter that bounced between the three of them as they jumped up the stairs to the building. She was mid-way on writing out that he should be subtler about the whole thing, when he threw the door open with a loud _bang. _

"_Hiiiii everybody! _Now, all the people who owe me money _please _line up! You're about to be _very _happy!"

Dottie groaned as she put her head in her hands. The silence from inside only proving her initial thoughts that they wouldn't take too well to the sudden entrance.

"Why did _you _come here?"

She walked to stand beside Ed and directed a glare towards Kayal who crossed his arms. This kid was switching between hot and cold for her, and right now he needed a cuff on his ear.

"Hey, her. You wouldn't say those kinds of things and drive the _owner _of this place away, now would you?" Dottie whacked him on the back of his head for the tone, "Ow! What was that for!?"

"What the hell are you-!?"

Visibly flinching, she went behind Al as the rather tall and scary man invaded her personal space. Ed frowned before unrolling the contract from his pocket and holding it in front of the angry man.

"…This is…."

"Mining, management and all that good stuff, this is the deed for all businesses."

"Why're _you _holding thi- No way! The signature says Edward Elric!"

"_WHAT!?"_

"Correct!" The blond dramatically posed so that he could show off, "In short, this entire mine is now mine!"

The collective stunned gazes of the others made Dottie laugh, the visible _'no way'_ in the air felt like the perfect comic-relief for the stressful day she'd had. Al seemed to have placed a finger to his forehead in embarrassment. Ed put a hand on her shoulder, giving a nonchalant gesture to his audience.

"It's as I've said, we're the wandering sort that go from journey to journey. Something like this would just be a nuisance, in all honesty."

"Are you saying you're going to sell that to us?" Kayal's father spoke up, eyes narrowed in hope and clouded with a bit of well-warranted suspicion, "How much?"

Ed's grin got wider, "It's expensive." He flapped it around, "If you want to get something, you gotta pay the price. This is _vellum _embossed in _gold, _and the storage box is finely engraved _jade. _The true mark of an artist…... Oh! _And_ the key is silver."

The alchemist noticed the lost expressions on the men around him, and carried on, "To the untrained eye, all of this lumped together equals… the price of one night and three meals at the boss's place. Is that reasonable?"

'_He can be such a dick.'_

Alphonse read from over her shoulder, giggling quietly in agreement and at the strange smiley face she had drawn next to it. She flipped the page as she saw the person in question glance over at them, eyes narrowing on her as she pretended to whistle innocently.

"Yes!" Kayal's dad laughed, "Yes that _is _expensive! All right. Bought!"

"Sold!"

The deed was slammed on the table between them just as the door bust open, "Sir Alchemist! What is the _meaning _of this!?"

"Well if it isn't the First Lieutenant! I just sold the deed to this man," Ed greeted with a childlike ignorance.

"What did you say!?" He looked horrified, "No. More importantly! The gold bricks you gave me all turned to stone!"

Alphonse bent down so he could whisper in his brother's ear, "When did you turn them back?"

He smirked, "I don't know anything about gold bricks, First Lieutenant!"

Dottie crossed her legs as she sat down, enjoying the scene that was playing out in front of her.

"Don't play innocent with me! Didn't I trade the deed for a _mountain of gold!? _This is _fraud!"_

"I received the certificate free of charge, but…... oh look, there's a memorandum. Maybe that'll help clear this up for us what d'ya say?"

The First Lieutenant growled, "Get the deed! The deal is off!"

The growing shadow of the group of angry miners was cast onto his men, stopping them in their tracks.

"You wouldn't be trying to take away _private property _through force, would you? Is this abuse of authority?" Kayal's father cut through to the front of the crowd.

Dottie cheered from her seat, pumping her fists into the air as she watched the goons be K.O'd with a single punch, sending them flying into the ground unconscious. Edward joined her, crossing his arms with a cocky smile that he shot towards the older man.

"Ah! I almost forgot, First Lieutenant? I'll be sure to inform the higher ups about your incompetence," He held up a hand sweetly to the miners, "Please take care of it from here."

The party afterwards was filled with alcohol and freshly roasted chicken which Dottie had no qualms about eating, joining in on the celebration. She spotted Kayal from the corner of her eye once or twice during it, deciding to give him a free-pass for his behaviour over the past two days as a look of admiration had covered his face as he stared at Ed.

The look disappeared however after said person passed out on the ground from eating so much.

"You fell asleep _again! _You're so embarrassing, Brother!"

Dottie just laughed.


	4. Train Wrecked

**Train Wrecked**

* * *

The train ride had been fairly pleasant, easily making it to the top of Dottie's list of most enjoyable experiences since waking up in Liore. She gazed out of the window at the passing countryside that had shifted from the dry-looking scenery that the surrounded the mine to a somewhat lush expanse of green and rolling hills. They had been in the same seats for nearly two day at this point, and she was honestly about to start drawing on Ed's face if he didn't stop snoring. He nearly took up the entire bench, feet unceremoniously thrown into her lap much to her distaste. Alphonse had been telling her stories from when the brothers were younger, most revolving around a girl called Winry who she made a mental note to thank for slapping them into reality whenever they got too much.

Of course, this had all been _before _the train was hijacked.

Dottie shifted uncomfortably as the atmosphere got thicker with anxiety and fear. It riddled the air in all the booths beside theirs, and if she was being totally truthful, she was more annoyed at the entire situation than anything else. There was a lump of useless flesh using her as a footrest, and now a man pointing a gun at her.

"Listen missy, if you just do as you're told, we won't hurt you alright?" He grinned, "It'd be a shame to hurt such a pretty thing."

Dottie was midway through with flipping the man the bird when his attention slipped to the blond beside her.

"You can sleep pretty well in a situation like this, kid." He propped the gun against his shoulder, "Oy," He pocked Ed with it, "Oy, wake up! Why can't you act a little bit more like a fucking _hostage, _you **shrimp!**"

_Of course, it's __**that**__ what wakes him up._

Dottie felt the feet slung across her lap drop to the ground at a lightning pace, a familiar and murderous aura being emitted from their owner. He placed a hand next to her head along the banister to balance himself as he got up.

"Oh? Have some complaints, do ya?!" The man shouted, sticking the gun's barrel directly into Ed's face. There was a clap, and his hands were then on either side of the weapon seconds before it was transmuted into a shoddy looking trumpet, "Huh!? What the hell!?"

The girl cackled to herself at the State Alchemist's antics, cheering him on as he booted the man in the face hard enough to knock him out. A sigh came from Al who had resumed the much-needed pose of exasperation with his brother's behaviour.

The click of a gun alerted the trio to another person, "Not bad, _punk. _There's no mercy for anybody that resists us, but something about shooting a small-fry like you just doesn't seem fair."

The suit of armour was already in-between the two, grabbing the gun and pointing it in a completely different direction to Ed, "Now, now, calm down you two!"

"What!? You want to put up a fight –" Before he could finish, the blond jumped and kneed the man in the face, "-too?"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A FLEA-SIZED ULTRA SHRIMP!"

Dottie lifted a finger to interject before deciding it was safer to just stay out of it. She went over to Alphonse to get away from the one-sided brawl that was unfolding in front of her. She winced at a particularly rough sounding kick.

"Brother! He'll die if you do any more than that."

'You don't sound _too_ worried about that.'

Al giggled sheepishly, meaning she wasn't too far off the mark. Rolling her eyes, she turned her attention to the boy who held the unconscious gunman by his shirt with a fiery glare. He stared a second longer, and promptly turned to face his younger brother.

"Anyway, who are these guys?"

"So, it was a subconscious reaction from hearing 'shrimp'." Alphonse sighed disappointed, making Dottie grin to herself. The Elrics had tied up the two men by the time the first one woke up for questioning.

"Other than us, there's two in the engine room, four with the general in the first-class car, and four of us guarding the hostages in the passenger cars." He hadn't taken much to start babbling, obviously not too keen on another beating from the short boy who was curling his fists threateningly.

"_And?_"

"Really, that's it! Honest!"

The voices of the other passengers spoke worriedly to one another, whispering about the other gunmen stashed along the train. There was a voiced concern that because Ed had beaten up one of the goons, that the others would soon come back and retaliate.

"If a certain _somebody_ had acted calmly, then this would have ended peacefully, _right Brother?"_ Alphonse was quick to instigate.

"We can't move forward if we only regret the _past, _little brother!"

Dottie was caught between amusement at Ed and agreement with the suit of armour. The need to think practically won out in the end, wiping the corners of her mouth into a subtle frown. Her unconvinced and unimpressed expression must have struck a chord with the blond who muttered out a quiet 'shut up' with cheeks tinged a light pink. In all honesty, she wasn't too bothered if this didn't end as peacefully as Alphonse wanted, instead glad that the creepy gunman who had called her a 'pretty thing' was nursing a bloody lip.

"Can't be helped, I'll be taking the top, I guess. Al, Dots, you two handle things down here, okay?"

"Okay, okay."

Dottie would have complained about being stuck where all the guns would be, but after taking a quick glance at how fast the train was going, she decided it was the safer idea.

Shitty balance and a moving vehicle were a recipe for disaster.

She pulled open a carriage window for the brothers, Ed and Al grasping each other's wrists for better support as the former prepared to launch himself onto the roof.

"Just who _are _you people?" A voice from the compartment asked, eyeing them cautiously.

"Us? We're alchemists!" Ed replied proudly, leaning back and ruining the moment by yelling, "The wind pressure! The _wind pressure!" _As he was swept away. If it weren't for Al he would have gone flying. There was a _bang _on the roof of the carriage that signalled the blond had stuck the landing and was starting to move forward.

"Shall we, Miss Dottie?" Alphonse asked politely, offering an arm to the shorter girl who took it with a nod.

The duo crossed through to the next compartment without much trouble. There wasn't a single passenger in sight which meant they had all most likely been sent to the back one for better observation. The suit of armour pressed up against the wall as he heard footsteps, pulling Dottie with him, about to motion for her to be quiet before remembering, "Er, sorry."

"- to call at the scheduled _times!" _A guy a bandana wrapped around his head came into view, and Alphonse stepped in front of him with his hands raised. The cigarette in his mouth dropped to the floor and immediately he went for his gun.

"Wait! Watch out for the rico -" Al tried to warn him, " - chet….. Too late."

Bandana man had gotten himself shot in the thigh, falling backwards in pain. The sound made Dottie wince as more men came to investigate, firing at the sight of the walking armour and once again, the bullets ricocheted and hit them instead.

"Are you people idiots?" Al asked innocently, eyeing the men who were cradling their shot limbs and whimpering with angry tears. The girl beside him cackled at the blunt insult, knowing the boy hadn't meant it harshly.

Hopping ahead of him, Dottie opened the next carriage door carelessly and spotted more gunmen that locked onto her. Freezing, she gave an awkward wave which they returned before realising she wasn't supposed to be there. One ran to where she supposed a phone was to call their boss.

"Girly, what d'you think you're doin' 'ere? Aren't you supposed to be down with the other women, huh? Run off for some manly company, did ya?"

Blanching at what he was insinuating, she stepped to the side for Alphonse to quickly step in front of her and into the spotlight. There was a tense pause before they started shooting at him, bullets flicking off him and making their way home.

Dottie could admit that at least this group were quick to pick up on the ricochet after half of their men dropped to the ground. She quickly tied them to the train seats.

"Help!" The one on the phone was louder than the fight, "A huge suit of armour and a _girl _are making their way up the – "

Dottie tightened the last gunman to a seat, watching as Al glided to the talker.

" – Ah! No! Please!"

The man was another victim of ricochet, shooting only to get a bullet to the leg. Shaking her head, she pulled out her notebook and wrote in big, bold letters: **RI-CO-CHET**. It was more for Al's conscious than anything, he was starting to feel really bad about the whole thing.

"_Attention all criminals. We have taken the engine room and the rear carriages. All that's left is this one. Please __**release**__ the hostages and surrender yourselves."_

Edward's voice came tumbling out of the door to the next carried that Alphonse had quietly opened. She went to stand behind him, having learnt her lesson earlier on to let the bullet-deflector go first. Before she forgot, she ripped out the page in her notebook and tucked it into his chest piece so that anybody approaching him would see it. He gave an 'oh!' and stammered a thank you.

"_Failure to do so, and we will have to remove you by force."_

"Fuck off! I don't know _who _you are, but as long as we have hostages, _we can't lose!"_

Dottie assumed that was the boss shouting.

"_Oh dear me. Still full of fighting spirit? Too bad. Negotiations have failed."_ A confused pause, _"All hostages, please hide behind shelter."_

There was a metallic groan, and as Al held the door open, water spilled out and carried the men with it as well. They coughed up whatever liquid had made it into their lungs before turning to face to duo which stood over them.

"A huge…. Suit of armour…. Girl." Terror was written across their faces.

"Not yet! I still have my trump hostage!" Dottie heard from the next carriage over, she noted the boss was wearing an eyepatch and looked like he hadn't shaved in a week or two. He brandished his arm, revealing automail. There were heavy footsteps above their heads and smiled as Ed fell through the roof to stand beside them, cocky as ever.

"Oh? Another user?" He flashed a maniacal grin as he transmuted his arm into a long spike.

"This _**punk**_!"

They charged forward, the Gunmen's Boss reaching to fire his machine-gun arm just as Ed stabbed it from below. The sight of his automail going clean through and cutting it like butter made Dottie's eyes widen.

She hadn't had the chance to ask about his automail, and was making a mental note to when this was all over.

"What? You're using some seriously cheap goods."

There was a fighting ferocity in his eyes that forced the girl's breath to stammer for a moment, her cheeks colouring lightly.

A gauntlet clamped around the man's shoulder, and Al abruptly swung his other one around to bash him in the head. The man fell to the ground, and Ed clapped his hands together to form a cage that they later put the rest of the men in.

"Huh? What's that shoved into your chest piece? Rico…... I honestly can't read it."

"Um, brother…."

"Seriously, Al. Did you write this with your left hand? It looks like a kid wrote it!"

Dottie felt whatever admiration she had for him die, and before she could stop herself, she hurled her pen at the blond and started to whack him with her notebook.

The train arrived at the station a couple of hours afterwards. Dottie was happily rocking on the balls of her feet in excitement to finally get off, Alphonse lending a hand for her to get up and beginning a one-sided conversation as they walked together with a slightly bruised Ed trailing behind.

"You're just like _Winry_, jeez!" He muttered, reaching up to touch a particularly sensitive bump on his head, "S'not my fault your handwriting is bad."

Dottie stuck her chin up and ignored him.

They had only just landed on the platform when a figure cut across to stand just in front of the trio. She cocked her head, taking in the uniform he was wearing as well as the woman beside him. A strange feeling of nostalgia licked at the back of her skull.

_Do I know them?_

"Fullmetal."

"Oh! It's the Colonel!" Al chirped, lightening the mood between his travel companions.

"Why does his face look so unhappy to see me?" The man asked with a deadpan look, staring blankly at the boy who was sending hateful glares his way.

"I should have just stayed out of the Colonel's jurisdiction!"

"As cold as usual, I see," He sighed, smirking a bit, "And you still haven't restored yourselves either."

"We searched books and like, but we didn't find anything," Ed crossed his arms, "We're going to search through East City now. Just haven't found a good way of doing it yet."

"I've heard rumours. It seems you've done quite a bit here and there."

There was a yell from somewhere behind them. Dottie moved to stand next to the woman who had introduced herself as Riza Hawkeye during the boys' emotional reunion. She was nice, or at least that's what Dottie gathered from the short interaction they had had. There was a certain way about her that just screamed 'maternal figure.' Her eyes flittered to the source of the noise again, and went wide as she saw two men on the ground bleeding whilst Eye-Patch from earlier stood over them. He was panting with blood dripping from his automail.

Ed groaned.

"Colonel, please stay back." Riza spoke softly, bringing up her pistol to level it at the approaching man. She was stopped from doing anything when the man in question put his arm out in front of her.

He clicked his fingers and there was an explosion. A wave of heat passing through them, and Dottie fought with her skirt to keep it down from the gusts of wind that were battering her and the Elrics. Eye-Patch was thrown backwards and to the feet of three other officials.

"I went easy on you," He started, "If you're going to resist again, I'll turn you into cinders, understood?"

"_Fucker, _what the hell are you?!"

"Roy Mustang. Rank? Colonel," There was a cocky smile, "I'm the Flame Alchemist. Remember that."

* * *

The Colonel's office was more spacious than she had expected. Dottie sat in the lush couch across from the Elrics, curiously observing every inch she could. The brief conversation had started some time ago, and judging by the shit-eating grin on Ed's face, she was sure it was heading in his favour.

"You owe me one for this, _right _Colonel?" He leered.

"There's something disturbing about being in your debt," Mustang admitted, swinging around in his chair so he could lean his elbow against his desk, "I'll cave. What do you want?"

"That's our Colonel! You're quick." The blond laughed, "We want _you _to show us to a library or introduce us to an alchemist that knows about biological transmutation."

"Right now? Good grief man, you're impatient."

Dottie nodded in agreement.

"We just want to get our body's back as soon as possible!"

She had pieced together enough of what the Elric's had told her as well as let slip to realise what this was about. It wasn't like they were subtle about their situation, having practically shouted it at her in Liore when Al's helmet had been shot off.

They hadn't spoken about it since however, keeping quiet about the finer details that she was too awkward and cautious to ask about.

The sudden gaze of the three males were locked on her face, studying her reaction to the topic being brought up. Blinking owlishly at them, she gestured for them to _go on_ before taking a sip of the tea Riza had made for her.

"I see she was let in on your secret then," Mustang mused as he went through the bookshelf to the left of his office, "Surprising, all things considered."

"Well, it wasn't so much _told _as more," Ed looked at her, "Right place, right time?"

She shrugged at his slap-stick explanation.

"It's been a while since we properly were able to talk. Let's chat over a cup of tea and biscuits, shall we?" Mustang walked to the couches where the trio sat, claiming a spot opposite Dottie who gave him a friendly smile.

"Why the hell do you think I'd wanna have _tea_ with you!?"Ed yelled.

"I wasn't talking to _you, _Fullmetal. I was _talking _to the lovely lady beside you."

Dottie snorted despite herself, placing her cup onto its saucer as she watched the scandalised looks the brothers were throwing at their Colonel.

"You can't just assume everyone wants to go on a date with you, womanizer!" The eldest Elric shouted, throwing a pointed finger at the older man.

"She isn't saying no, now is she?"

"That's because she can't _talk!"_

"A minor detail."

"_She's _a minor!"

"Well, _that _I can't ignore," Mustang muttered to himself before turning to the grey-haired girl, "When are you turning twenty, then?"

Dottie was spared from answering as the blonde woman from before opened the door and slipped inside, carrying a tray of chocolate biscuits that she laid in front of her to pick from first. She smiled and plucked one up, dipping it into her tea and popping it into her mouth.

Riza gave her a soft nod of her head and gave her a pat on the shoulder, turning so that she stood behind her Colonel that suddenly seemed less enthused to continue their previous conversation.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but why _is _she travelling with you then? I doubt you just picked her up at a random town." Mustang cleared his throat as he avoided a rather harsh glare being sent his way by the blonde.

"Well, I guess because we're the ones who found her. We couldn't just _leave _her, could we?"

Dottie shot an unimpressed look at Edward, suddenly feeling like she was a stray the brothers had picked up on an adventure. She simpered when she realised that it was more accurate than not.

"Found?"

"Yeah, in the desert surrounding Liore," Ed continued, "We thought she was dead. It was lucky we took the chance and decided to find her a doctor in town."

"And you thought carrying a _maybe-dead body _through to Liore was a _good_ idea?"

Sinking down in her seat, Dottie reached for her notebook and started sketching in the margins of her drawing of the Church of Leto. The pages of the journal were filling up a lot faster than she thought they would. She made a mental note to look for another one the next time they went shopping.

"Is she even Amestrian?"

Dottie blinked at the loud question, wondering why that was so important it required them to shout. She sent a quizzical gaze to the brother beside her, trying to prompt some kind of answer from the suit of armour.

"We're honestly not sure, it was enough of a struggle to get her to remember her own _name_."

"Is she an amnesiac then?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Four pairs of eyes turned to her then, half curiously probing her appearance to gauge whether it was the truth or not.

"She doesn't _look _Amestrian," Riza called softly, stare raking over her gently in comparison to the Colonel.

"And that'll be enough for any officials to warrant her deportation to wherever her 'home' is." Mustang sighed, slapping a hand to his knee as he used the action to stand up and walk towards his desk. He rifled through a drawer for a moment before drawing out a stack of yellow papers.

"Everything about her is too pale to suggest she's from Xing or Aerugo," He uncorked a fountain pen, dropping the stack onto the coffee table where the four of them sat, "She _could _pass as a Northerner, but anybody who's ever been to Drachma would be able to see she looks nothing like them."

"She'll need papers," Ed finished for him with a sigh, "We already guessed."

"I suppose that's also what you want to repay the favour?" Roy's smirk was enough to rub a Saint the wrong way, "She needs to sign these and then be under watch for the next six months before she's neutralised."

'Neutralised?'

"It means you become a citizen of Amestria," Al explained to her.

'Oh, alright. Is that good?'

"I wouldn't say it's the _best _country but it could be worse."

Dottie smiled at the attempt at a joke, picking up the pen Mustang had given her to start filling out the forms. They were easy questions, each so simple that she wondered why the state even needed to know them. The form ranged from asking about her blood type to where she would be staying for the next six months of her life. It didn't seem too hard.

She raised the fountain pen and touched it to the corner of a box that she was meant to tick if she was minor. The next question caught her eye and made her still.

_Where is your place of birth?_

This was going to take a while.


End file.
